Senator James Orengo questioned in probe over Lamu land scandal

From left (front), Senators Johnstone Muthama, James Orengo and Bonny Khalwale and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wundayi outside the CID headquarters on Kiambu Road in Nairobi. Senator Orengo (Siaya) was questioned by CID detectives over the 500,000-acre land scandal in Lamu County. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Siaya Senator James Orengo was on Monday questioned by CID detectives over the 500,000-acre land scandal in Lamu County, as investigations into how public land was alienated got underway.

Mr Orengo, who served as lands Minister when the alleged illegal allocations took place, was questioned for over two hours at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (CID) headquarters on Kiambu road in Nairobi.

He was, however, not allowed to record a statement.

He is expected again on Tuesday to formally record a statement over his involvement or what he knows about the 22 companies named in the acquisition of thousands of acres of land in Lamu County.
Mr Orengo was accompanied by Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, his Kakamega counterpart, Dr Bonny Khalwale, and MPs Mohamed Junet (Suna East), David Ochieng (Ugenya) and Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja).

Briefing the media outside the CID headquarters, Mr Muthama said they had accompanied Orengo after he was summoned by the investigators.

REASON FOR SUMMONS

He said they had initially not been told the reason for the summons.

“We went there and were shown several documents that had passed through his hands when he was Minister for Lands,” said Mr Muthama.

But Dr Khalwale said the main issue that led to the summoning of the Siaya senator was the land question in Lamu.

“The investigators are trying to find out what Mr Orengo knows or doesn’t know about the allocation of land in Lamu.

“He was, for the first time, able to see the names of the actual companies that were named in the Lamu land scandal as he went through the due process of verifying the evidence put before him,” said Dr Khalwale.

He, however, claimed the whole exercise linking Orengo to the land deals in Lamu was just a scheme by other players who had been trying to hide and use the senator as a scapegoat.

“We will come back again in the morning (Tuesday) to record a full statement that is going to put to rest the land issue in Lamu,” said Dr Khalwale.

Mr Orengo did not speak during the media briefing.

FORMER LANDS PS TO APPEAR

Former Lands PS Ms Dorothy Angote was also slated to appear before the investigators at the CID headquarters to give her side of the story.

As the CID investigate how thousands of acres of government land was acquired by private entities, the National Land Commission on Monday started a tour of Lamu to continue with the probe after concluding a public hearing in Nairobi two weeks ago.

NLC chairman Mohamad Swazuri told Nation.co.ke that the commission, which had already dispatched a team of experts, including surveyors, would visit all the ranches to establish the truth about the state of the land in question.

“We know there are some companies that claimed to be active on the ground and that is why we are going to the ground to verify all the information that was gathered during the public hearing,” he said.

All the 22 parcels mentioned in the presidential directive and which are within the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor in Lamu County were listed among those that were reviewed by the NLC.

The National Lands Commission said their review would not interfere with what other government agencies are doing.

“This is purely an NLC affair to review the titles in order for the owners to tell us how they acquired the land,” said Dr Swazuri.

DENIED CLAIMS

Mr Orengo had earlier denied claims that he was involved in illegal allocations between 2011 and 2012.

He, instead, pointed fingers at 1,000 prominent people — including Deputy President William Ruto and Labour Secretary Kazungu Kambi — as among those whose land titles he revoked.

Statements from State House and from Mr Kambi dismissed the claims.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the real faces behind the alleged Lamu land grab straddle both sides of the political divide.

Investigators are said to be pursuing evidence that at least 10 powerful individuals hid their identities as the real beneficiaries of the land.