The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji on Tuesday May 16 dropped a Sh1.2 billion fraud case against businessman Jimi Wanjigi, his wife and four others for lack of evidence.
While dropping the charges, Haji informed Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the charges, adding that they were wrongfully prosecuted.
According to the DPP, Wanjigi and his co-accused persons should have been treated as state witnesses in the case.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohammed Amin had on January 27, 2023 written to the DPP requesting his office to peruse the file afresh, saying the witnesses in the case are the ones who had been charged while the suspects were walking free.
So far, 11 people have been charged in court with conspiracy to defraud Wanjigi and his wife of their land valued at Sh500 million. Wanjigi and his co-accused persons will be witnesses in the case now.
The DPP has urged the court to withdraw the charges against Wanjigi, his wife and their co-accused persons under Section 87 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
The Magistrate allowed the request to discharge Wanjigi and his co-accused persons.
They had been charged with obtaining Sh56 million from Kenroid Limited, by falsely pretending they were in a position to sell the company a 0.3314-hectare piece of land on General Mathenge Road in Westlands.
However, according to Wanjigi, they entered a sale agreement with Kenroid at a cost of Sh280 million and they demanded a deposit of 20 percent, Sh56 million.
It was then that they realized the parcel of land was being claimed by three parties including Kalunde and Horizon Hills Limited.
The buyer, Kenroid Limited, then placed a caveat claiming purchaser’s interest on the land with the Ministry of Lands.
The probe revealed an intricate web of fraud that involved businessmen, government officials and a lawyer couple.
City lawyer Anthony Anabaka Maseno, his spouse Prisca Nzula Wambua, and Valentine Jelimo Kibire, a former clerk at the State Law Office have also been fingered in the probe.
Investigations further revealed that the woman who claimed ownership of the land had a forged title.
It further revealed that the Sh100 million Equity Bank loan that the businesswoman claimed to have used to buy a land in Westlands was actually used to purchase another land in Lavington.
Court documents indicate that though Cissy Kalunde Musembi claimed she took a Sh100 million loan to purchase the land, Sh98 million was actually transferred from the same loan to Suken International’s bank account towards a purchase of a piece of land in Lavington.
According to the Land Fraud Unit (LFU) detectives, city lawyer Anthony Anabaka Maseno, his spouse Prisca Nzula Wambua, and Ministry of Lands official Cartwright Owino were involved in the fraud.
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