As the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) carried out their long investigations, the judge felt the need to have the matter resolved in a different way and thus filed a legal suit against the said person Sally Cherutich, Peter Odande and the Nakuru lands registrar.

In the argument he maintained his ownership claim and sought to be declared the legal owner of the land as well as be awarded the resulting compensation.

Mr Munyao accused the defendants of tampering with land records in order to have his file disappear from the registry, before preparing another certificate of lease and a lease title in favour of Ms Sally Cherutich.

Read: Lands of Deceit: The day a Lands court Judge fell prey to suspected land grabbers (Part 1)

“I do not have a certified copy of my title because the entire file is missing from the land registry. My wife and I had done all that the acquisition process demanded, beginning from valuation to payment of stamp duty through the land office at Nakuru,” stated Mr Munyao.

Mr Odande and Ms Cherutich on the other hand filed a counterclaim seeking to be declared the owners of the land which Ms Cherutich claimed to have bought for Sh 2.5 million in 2018.

It accused the Judge of trespassing the land and also sought for compensation.

During the hearing, Gildine Gatwiri Karani, the Principal Land Registration Officer based at the Chief Land Registrar’s office, Ardhi House, Nairobi acknowledged Ms Cherutich’s title deed as the genuine one from the lands office.

Raymond Gitonga Kubai, the Land Registrar, Nakuru claimed the land office received a lease from Nairobi in respect of Nakuru Municipality Block 23/728 in triplicate through a forwarding letter dated 9/8/2018, Ref 308230 which was in the name of Sally Cherutich.

He said the documents held by the judge could not be traced from their records. Mr Caleb Sunguti was the lands registrar in Nakuru during this time.

The court was forced to consider other factors in determining this case which included the conduct of both parties.

The judge wondered how a presentation book, (a permanent record of whether any document was ever received for registration in the land registry), would be missing in the very office (lands office) which is legally charged with its custody.

Also Read: Lands of Deceit: The far-reaching tentacles of land grabbers in Nakuru County

“It would appear to me that the defendants jointly knew even as at the registration of the first defendants of the existence of Mr Munyao’s records somewhere in the Land Registry but nevertheless hurriedly processed the new title with the full knowledge that with the disappearance of the plaintiff’s records from the Lands office, the latter would not be in a position to establish before any forum their claim that these records had ever existed,” noted Justice Mwangi Njoroge while ruling the case in favour of Mr Munyao.

Despite the judge winning the case on a balance of probability, the case took at least five years to be determined as the defendants put up spirited fight to maintain claim to the land.

Forgery of land documents

Lawyer Matiri Mburu who spoke to Mtaa wangu said it has become common for grabbers to take over peoples’ lands by colluding with the officials at the lands office to get the documents.

The lawyer argued that the officers in the Ministry of Lands are responsible for interfering with land records before issuing new titles.

“Nowadays it is easier to find two or three people with genuine title deeds which both came from the lands registry. If one is not careful, the genuine owner can easily lose their land. The problem needs to be resolved from the lands office,” said Mr Matiri.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in an interview with Mtaa Wangu said some corrupt Public officials collude with private individuals and groups to carry out illegal land acquisition through forgery of documents which facilitate illegal land transfers.

Related: Lands of Deceit: How wife managed to sell husband's land in Kirima, Menengai slopes

EACC head of Corporate Communications Eric Ngumbi said the individuals involved in land grabbing include politicians and influential businesspeople.

“Corrupt public officials illegally allocate land to private individuals through fraudulent documentation or by manipulating the land registration process,” stated Mr Ngumbi.

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Lands of Deceit: The day a Lands court Judge fell prey to suspected land grabbers (Part 2)

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