ATWOLI, MURATHE, MARENDE ARRESTED

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is probing Jubilee Party Vice-Chairman David Murathe, former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli, and former Speaker Kenneth Marende in connection with a Ksh.250 million land saga.

Others roped in the alleged plan to defraud the Kenyan government include; Albino Abuog and George Khaniri.

Atwoli is said to have received the lion’s share of the payment, totalling Ksh.60 million, while Jirongo and Murathe received Ksh.25 million and Ksh.20.6 million, respectively. George Khaniri is alleged to have pocketed Ksh.5 million, while Kenneth Marende received Ksh.3 million and Albino Abuog Ksh.38 million.

According to a source at the anti-graft body, the proceeds were obtained through compensation for land located in Nairobi and referred to as L.R. No. 209/11887.

The property currently houses public utilities; A.E.F. Rueben Primary School, a health centre, a police station, and a vocational centre.

The land is said to have been occupied by A.E.F Reuben Primary School since 1986, and it was operated by the Mukuru Promotion Centre and funded by the Africa Education Fund until 1998 when it was handed over to Nairobi County and registered as a public school.

According to a source who spoke to Citizen Digital, a senior military official applied and received the parcel of land, which he later transferred to Kuza Farms & Allied Limited in 1990.

“KUZA has since not developed nor occupied the land. However, sometime in the year 1993, the subject parcel of land was used as security for a facility of Kshs.1,650,000,000/- taken out by Sololo Outlets Limited in favour of Post Bank Credit Limited consequently registering a charge against the title of the subject parcel of land,” says the source.

“The borrower failed to service the loan as required and as such Post Bank Credit Limited retained the original title until it went into liquidation when the Deposit Protection Fund Board (now Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation) took over custody of the title.” 

The arrears of the loan taken against the land has since accrued to Ksh.19.8 billion.

Kuza is said to have gone to court in 2014, suing the A.E.F Reuben Primary School Board of Directors, the Nairobi City County, the Attorney General’s Office, and the National Land Commission.

In the suit, Kuza sought to have structures on the subject parcel of land demolished as well as trespass compensation.

“The suit was not determined on merit as parties engaged in out-of-court negotiations giving rise to a consent that was ultimately adopted as a decree of the court on the 1st of August 2016,” the EACC added.

“The terms of the decree stipulated that the defendants in the suit were to jointly and severally compensate Kuza Farms & Allied Limited for its land known as L.R. No. 209/11887 at an all-inclusive sum of Kenya Shillings Two Hundred and Fifty Million,” adds the source.

The payment of the compensation amount, Citizen Digital has learnt, was dependent on Kuza clearing all encumbrances registered against the title to the subject parcel of land.

Kuza was also required to execute all necessary transfer documents and hand over a clean title to the County Government of Nairobi over the subject parcel of land.

According to our source, in 2020, the county government of Nairobi compensated Kuza despite failing to comply with the terms of the decree because the title was still held by the Kenya Deposit Insurance Company (KDIC).

“Immediately the funds were paid out by the County Government, the money was shared and distributed through law firms to several entities,” the source says.

Sourced from citizen Digital