Intrigues as teams probe big fish behind Lamu land scandal

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu at the Lands offices in Mombasa on August 4, 2014. The mess in the Lands portfolio remains monumental, even as Ms Ngilu and Land Commission boss Muhamad Swazuri continue their parallel efforts to restore order. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • On July 31, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the revocation of titles held by the 22 entities until the truth behind the land allocation is revealed.
  • Cord leaders have accused their Jubilee counterparts of using the excuse of alleged grabbing in Lamu County as a witch-hunt.

Deep rifts have emerged within the government over the Lamu land controversy with claims that investigators are shielding some powerful individuals alleged to have benefited from irregular allocations.

On Friday, head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro briefed top security officials at the Interior ministry at Harambee House on the progress of the investigations into the alleged irregular allocation of 500,000 acres in Lamu to 22 companies.

However, a source who attended the confidential meeting said that suggestions by some officials that investigators were unlikely to find concrete evidence linking powerful individuals to the allocations were unconvincing, prompting some in the meeting to express their dissatisfaction with the progress so far.

“Some senior officials took issue with suggestions that no evidence would be found. They thought it was too early to make such a statement,” said our source.

Last week, Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu told the Sunday Nation that the real owners of the land may not be those in the registration records while some companies were not properly registered.

“The matter is now under investigation; some people might be mentioned as directors, yet they are not the real owners. The mentioned directors might be innocent house-helps who do not know that they own thousands of acres of land,” Mrs Ngilu said.

There were reports that some of the listed directors had no statutory records at the National Social Security Fund and the National Health Insurance Fund.

“To have such a big chunk of land, it means you paid millions. Someone with that kind of money must be a known entity. Names of some of these directors have not been heard before,” a Lands ministry source said.

REVOCATION

On July 31, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the revocation of titles held by the 22 entities until the truth behind the land allocation is revealed. Mr Muhoro is spearheading the process, with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the National Land Commission carrying out separate probes.

“We have commenced investigations to establish the real owners and whether those mentioned are proxies. We will do our part and forward the files to the Director of Public Prosecutions,” EACC chairman Mumo Matemu told the Sunday Nation.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has asked the agencies to merge their investigations.

Earlier in the week, Mr Muhoro said only two directors had voluntarily recorded statements and summoned the others to appear before his officers. The Sunday Nation has learnt that a few have since sent their lawyers.

However, the Friday meeting where preliminary findings were presented laid bare the pressure top security officials are under to provide evidence to support the President’s declaration that land was acquired “under dubious and corrupt circumstances”.

“There is going to be a big fall-out in government if what happened today (Friday) is anything to go by. It seems investigators want to protect certain powerful individuals and implicate others,” the source said.

The President is expected to be briefed on the investigations after he returns from the US-Africa Summit. Interior PS Mutea Iringo has been receiving all the briefings in the absence of Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku, who is part of the Kenyan delegation to America.

Cord leaders have accused their Jubilee counterparts of using the excuse of alleged grabbing in Lamu County as a witch-hunt targeting former Lands minister James Orengo.

DISMISSED CLAIMS

Last Monday, Mr Orengo, who is the Siaya Senator, denied claims that he was involved in illegal allocations between 2011 and 2012.  He, instead, fingered 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 reveal 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.

Officers have now narrowed their focus on two senior civil servants in the Mwai Kibaki administration, the son and sister of a prominent politician, a former top parastatal manager, two senior Mombasa politicians, a Lamu tycoon, the wife of a minister in the Grand Coalition Government, and a female Central Kenya politician.

It is the link between these prominent people and the 22 companies that the investigators are trying to establish.

According to the national coordinator of the Kenya Land Alliance Lumumba Odenda, the fact that the land involved was public meant that only the National Land Commission could give credible findings.

“To the extent that this is about historical and contemporary injustices, NLC should be taking the lead role and only invite other agencies,” said Mr Odenda.

However, Mr Odenda claimed that the ongoing investigations are only meant to muddy the waters. Some coastal Jubilee MPs asked the government to pursue companies and individuals behind the land scandal without considering their political affiliation.

Deputy Majority Leader Naomi Shaban told Sunday Nation, “Mrs Ngilu should look at all the files in her investigation. This is the only way to address the land issue which is emotive for all.”

Almost 90 people have been killed in Lamu and Tana River counties in violent attacks that the government has linked to politics and land issues.