Former Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita has been charged in connection with a high-profile land fraud case involving two prime parcels in Nairobi West. The disputed properties, each measuring 0.29 acres and situated along Langata Road, are collectively valued at Sh150 million.
Mwaita faces five criminal charges, including land fraud, abuse of office, conspiracy to commit a felony, making a document without authority, and providing false information to public officers. He appeared before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was released on a bond of Sh10 million or an alternative cash bail of Sh2 million, with two sureties.
According to the prosecution, the offences were allegedly committed in 2001, when Mwaita was serving in public office. It is claimed that Mwaita and a co-accused conspired to fraudulently generate title documents for Grant Title Land Reference No. 209/9968 IR No. 85847 without proper legal authority. These forged documents were reportedly intended to defraud Rose Njoki King’au of land identified as Plot No. “A”.
The court was also informed that Mwaita registered the title for Plot “A”, along with an adjacent parcel known as Plot “B”, without the knowledge or consent of the rightful owners, Rose Njoki King’au and Micugu Wagatharia. This alleged action is said to constitute an abuse of office.
Mwaita’s co-accused, identified as Kiplangat, failed to attend the plea-taking session, prompting the court to issue a summons for his appearance. The matter has been scheduled for further mention on Tuesday.
Further allegations include that in March 2020, Mwaita misled officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations by falsely claiming that the disputed parcels were owned by a certain company. Authorities assert that these statements were part of an ongoing effort to cover up the fraudulent acquisition.
Mwaita was arrested on Sunday in the Kilimani area and held overnight before being brought to court for arraignment. The case has drawn public attention as it revisits long-standing concerns around land grabbing and corruption within Kenya’s public institutions.
