Man, 79, convicted for land fraud in Nyeri

A Nyeri court has found an elderly man guilty of land fraud. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The magistrate said there is proof that proper procedures were not followed in the alleged transaction and lifting of a caution and restriction previously placed on the parcel of land.
  • He will be sentenced on April 14.

A 79-year-old man has been convicted by a Nyeri court for forging land ownership documents and fraudulently obtaining registration from the Ministry of Lands.

Mr John Wagura Ikiki was convicted Monday by Senior Principal Magistrate Phillip Mutua who found him guilty of three criminal charges involving conspiracy to defraud, forgery and obtaining registration by false pretence.

LEASE

The magistrate noted that Mr Ikiki falsely became the owner of a plot measuring quarter of an acre which was initially registered and owned by Kenya African Othaya Bus Union (KAOBU).

Mr Ikiki committed the offence on March 14, 2011 jointly with others not before the court, prosecution said.

He was accused of conspiring to defraud KAOBU of its land by falsely registering the same as his property.

He was further charged that jointly with others and on the same date he forged a document namely certificate of lease, purporting it to be genuine certificate issued and signed by the then Nyeri Land Registrar Mr John Wanjohi Gichuki.

Mr Ikiki faced a third count, which stated that he obtained land registration document and number by falsely pretending that he acquired the said land legally from KAOBU, a fact he knew was false.

GUILTY AS CHARGED

In his ruling, the magistrate found that without conspiring with others in the Lands registry, Mr Ikiki would not have been able to claim ownership of the land which the court noted he did not have.

“He conferred a benefit to himself through a lease which was not genuine. There is no way the accused would have been the registered owner without conspiracy and networking from the land office,” the magistrate observed.

He noted that the KAOBU had not sold the plot to the accused despite certificate of lease held by the accused indicating he owned it. “Circumstances leading to the issuance of the ownership documents as well as signature appended by Mr Gichuki (land registrar) as indicated were not genuine and therefore means they were not genuine and were forged,” the Magistrate explained. 

Mr Mutua added that there is proof that proper procedures were not followed in the alleged transaction and lifting of a caution and restriction previously placed on the parcel of land.

Mr Ikiki will be sentenced on April 14.