Widow sues Moi over Sh500m land

A widow wants retired President Moi to return her family’s 53 acres of land valued at more than Sh500 million.

Mrs Susan Cheburet Chelungui has asked the High Court to help her regain her husband’s land or she be compensated at the current market rate.

She says the land was taken by Mr Moi, a private company, Rai Plywood (K) Ltd and a former assistant minister, Stanley Metto (now deceased).

Mrs Chelungui, 76, says that Mr Moi acquired the land and sold it to Rai Plywood Ltd, which is now in possession of the land.

She wants the court to declare that her land was acquired illegally.

She is represented in the case by lawyer William Arusei, who says that Mr Metto used deception to obtain the title to the land from Mr Chelungui to help him sell it but this never happened.

FUTILE

Mr Arusei told High Court Judge Sila Munyao attempts to get back the land had been futile.

The judge directed Mr Arusei to serve Mr Moi, Rai Plywood, the registrar of titles, the district land registrar in Uasin Gishu and the National Lands Commission — who have been named as defendants — with suit papers so that they can file defences.

Justice Munyao declined to grant interim orders she sought and directed the case be heard fully to give those mentioned a chance to answer to allegations raised by the widow and her son, Mr David Kipkemboi Chelungui — the joint administrators of the estate of the deceased.

The judge heard Mr Arusei wrote a demand letter to Mr Moi on April 3, 2014 seeking to resolve the matter. The proposal was accepted by Mr Moi’s lawyer Juma Kiplenge on April 9, 2014.

“We are of the view that this matter can be sorted out without litigating,” Mr Kiplenge stated in the letter.

Mr Arusei says the widow moved to court after Mr Kiplenge, went quiet over the out-of-court settlement.

SALE OF LAND
The widow states that her husband lost his land through illegal acts by Mr Metto in the 1970s, who purported to organise a sale of the land.

Mrs Chelungui says her husband’s efforts to recover the land were fruitless.

She says paper tracing of the land has shown that it is Mr Moi who acquired it, with Mr Metto ending up with 12 acres. The titles for the current owners were issued in 2007, two years after the death of Mr Chelugui.

The widow is pleading with the court to cancel titles issued to the present owners.

She wants the court to declare the title deeds held by Mr Moi and Rai Plywood (K) Ltd illegal, null and void as they do not enjoy any protection under the law.