In Githunguri, the law seems to target only the poor

Kiambu residents are up in arms over what they say is failure by the Principal Magistrate’s Court in Githunguri to resolve land cases, especially regarding succession. The affected families claim that protracted land disputes aggravate family feuds as a result of lack of support by the courts.

Teresia Muthoni Njoroge’s family is a case in point. Ms Njoroge, a resident of Ikinu village in Githunguri, Kiambu, was killed in September 2013,while her son, Gabriel Ng’ang’a Njoroge, was killed in March 2014.

Gabriel was Ms Njoroge’s adopted son. A woman of means, she had no biological children, so she adopted him in 1981 through the Child Welfare Society (CWS).

Ng’ang’a’s widow, Lucy Nyambura Gichinga, 26, says she was not allowed to grieve for her husband. Besides, she was not accorded respect as his widow during the burial.

“Immediately after my husband’s body was taken to the mortuary, I was evicted unceremoniously by his close relatives,” said Ms Gichinga.

At some point, the area chief visited her house, which had been closed, to confirm whether she was, indeed, Ng’ang’a’s widow.

“She found my clothes, personal items and household goods there. Photographs of these items were taken as evidence. But the chief came out agitated and ordered that the the door of the house be welded so that it could not be tampered with,” Ms Nyambura recalled.

As the burial plans were under way, unknown people broke into the house and stole household items, share certificates, next of kin declaration forms, copies of title deeds, identity cards, and family photographs.

“The chief presided over my husband’s burial but ordered that no one should take pictures,” Ms Gichinga revealed.

Although officers from the nearby Githunguri Police Station said both Ms Njoroge  and her son had been killed, and even took scene-of-crime pictures, their efforts have yielded nothing.

“I still feel threatened. No suspects have been arrested. It is worrying that the files on the two cases are still not available at the Principal Magistrate’s Court in Githunguri,” said Ms Gichinga, who was accompanied by her husband’s cousin, James Mungai Njagi to Nation Centre.

On March 20, 2015, Ms Gichinga complained in writing to the attorney-general over the matter. In a letter dated May 20,  2015, the Office of the Attorney-General ordered the Principal Magistrate’s Court in Githunguri to present the files to his office within 30 days. To date, the files have notbeen availed, said Mr Njagi.

On March 7, 2018, Ms Nyambura complained in writing  to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Joseph Boinnet, seeking his assistance.

“They received the letter, but did not respond,” she said.

 “The police came in both instances. Investigating officers took pictures. They then confiscated a mobile phone that they believed held crucial information. We believe t the police and the investigators are holding information that would have helped resolve the killings,” says Ms Nyambura.

The case took an unexpected turn when  the administration in Ikinu gave introduction letters to Ms Nyambura and her late husband’s step-brother, Bernard Ng’ang’a. In a letter dated June 5, 2015, Ms Jacqueline Kibe, the area chief, gave  Ms Gichinga a letter introducing her as Ms Njoroge’s only surviving relative and only widow of her son, and the sole administrator of Ms Njoroge’ estate.

But on July 1, 2015, Mr Eliud Kamau, then assistant chief, also gave Mr   Ng’ang’a a letter stating that he was Ms Njoroge’s only surviving son and the lawful administrator of her estate. Ms Gichinga and Mr Ng’ang’a  met at the Principal Magistrate’s Court with introduction letters according them identical rights.

Finally, on February 1, 2018, the court granted a certificate of confirmation of grant to Ms Nyambura as the sole administrator Ms Njoroge’s  estate. But by then, some of the property had already been sold. “Githunguri/Ikinu/1187 had already been subdivided and sold. In fact, one of the buyers is a lands officer in Githunguri.  Machakos Plot No 26 in Mua Hills was the first to be sold my husband’s relatives to finance this succession dispute,” Ms Nyambura revealed.

Unfortunately, all this has come after a long  period of suffering in court, living in perpetual fear, and in squalor, says Ms Gichinga, fighting backthe  tears. She wants her husband’s body  exhumed.

“For justice to prevail, I want to be granted the full rights to exhume my husband’s body  and accord him a ‘proper’ burial in the right place. It saddens me that he was buried indecently and hurriedly like someone with no dignity. Yet he had a wife to mourn him, even though his adoptive mother wa dead,” she says.  “I also want the police to move fast and arrest the suspects  in the killings of both Teresia and Gabriel, who are well known, together with their accomplices,” she adds.

Ms Gichinga has been living with well-wishers and does casual jobs to support herself and her daughter, Teresia Muthoni Ng’ang’a.

ILLEGALLY SOLD

In another case, the family of Jane Njeri Nderi, 65,  realised  only a few years ago that the land they have been living on  and claiming as their own belongs to someone else, according to official documents. Yet the land belonged to her father, Mr  Nderi Kuria, who died in 1986.

“Before he died, our father subdivided his land and gave each of  his six children a portion. He had this information in a book. In 1983, I  built a home and settled on my parcel,” she said. Today, Ms Njeri cannot claim ownership of the land that she has called her home for 35 years. “Even when I give evidence in court, it is as if no one listens to it,” she says.

Similarly, her older brother, John Kuria Nderi, who settled in Eldoret but leased his tea farm in Kiambu, recently discovered that his land had been sold.

The two siblings say powerful individuals interfere in the operations of the lands registry in Kiambu. “How can the same, original land title be held by two owners? Is this not an illegality? What does it say when one of the people claiming to own the land also works at the Kiambu lands office?” asks Mr Nderi.

There are numerous similar cases reported at the Githunguri Police Station, says Mr Paul Kamau Mwangi, a human rights activist in Kiambu. For instance, a man who was stabbed by his brother was arrested and charged with assault when he went to report the matter.

Meanwhile, a teacher who beat and seriously injured a student was fined Sh6,000, yet the child’s widowed mother had borrowed much more than that for the child’s treatment.

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QUEST FOR JUSTICE IN  KIAMBU IS OFTEN THWARTED

Following a public outcry, in August 2017, the Githunguri Residents Association, human rights bodies, churches and civil society group  wrote to Chief Justice David Maraga complaining of rampant corruption at the Principal Magistrate’s Court in  Githunguri, and at the Githunguri Police Station. The letter, seen by DN2, said evidence presented in court and police files are tampered with.

They said police officers block the prosecution of land grabbers, bhang peddlers and illicit alcohol brewers, and that on several occasions, the prosecution had dismissed evidence and sided with the accused. The complainants wanted the Githunguri OCS and his juniors investigated for allegedly fabricating criminal charges against innocent people. They accused two policewomen of acting as go-betweens for their seniors and magistrates. Ms Gichinga’s case was among those quoted in the letter.

On August 22, 2017, the assistant registrar, Office of the Chief Justice, wrote back acknowledging receipt of the letter and promised investigations into the allegations.

“Only one of the court clerks was transferred. The law in Kiambu was not made for the poor,” said Mr Kamau Mwangi, a human rights activist.

Court brokers keep interfering with the pursuit of justice in Kenyan courts, says investigator Jane Mugoh of Trimo Security and Private Investigations Ltd in Nairobi. Ms Mugoh, who has investigated a considerable number of fraud, murder, succession and land dispute cases in Kiambu County, says that in some cases police officers give evidence in court, but court clerks destroy the evidence.

“This weakens the cases and it is not just in Kiambu that this is happening; I have seen it in other places as well,” she says.

The results of a 2016 survey published in March by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission indicated that the police service is the most corrupt government institution. So the  Githunguri residents are not alone.

Outside some courts, land cartels operate a “spousal-consent syndicate”. Well-dressed women hang outside  the court waiting to be hired. In some land transaction cases, the court cannot proceed without spousal consent.

“If the wife does not agree but the man wants to sell the land, he hires a “wife” to  testify that she has consented to the sale. By the time his wife gets to know about it, it is too late,” says Ms Mugoh.

In most of the cases, it is the in-laws who collude with courts to disinherit the widow when their son dies. In other instances, some magistrates fake leave so that the case takes a long time.

“Across the country, many people are silently suffering as they are oppressed by the courts. This makes the work of investigators even more difficult. After turning the stones and digging the tunnels to access the truth, it can be frustrating. The President should address the matter,” says  Ms Mugoh.

“In some police stations, you find up to 10 assault cases and other human rights violations filed against one person in the occurrence book, but this person is never arrested or charged.  Who was the law formulated to serve? Where is justice in this case?” asks Mr Mwangi.

If such loopholes are not sealed, the level of crime will just keep fluctuating, without any meaningful progress, says Ms Mugoh. Kenya can learn from Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania, all of which have a whistle blower website.

A whistle blower website is an anonymous website for the ordinary citizen to file their complaints and any documented evidence directly to the relevant authorities without any interference.