Nakuru businessman faces Ksh12M land fraud case

A Nakuru-based businessman was Thursday arraigned in court for allegedly being involved in a land fraud syndicate in Embu.

Evanson Kihumbu Mwangi was charged with six counts including conspiracy to defraud, making document without authority and altering documents with intent to defraud.

Kihumbu, who appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Samuel Mutai, is accused of presenting herself as a Land Registrar in order to hoodwink unsuspecting land buyers who fall prey thus defrauding them of millions of shillings in land transactions.

The accused had on 17th June 2014 at Juja Police Station in Thika, with others not before the court, accused of conspired with intent to defraud Mr Silas Murithii Mbui of a parcel of land No. Gaturi/Weru/377 measuring 6.5 valued at 12 million by giving false information that her title deed got lost while on her way to Thika from Nairobi, information which was recorded in police OB 26/17/6/2014.

He was also accused that on December 18th, 2015 in Embu County of knowingly swearing an affidavit falsely on matter purporting that he owned the title of a parcel of land No. Gaturi/Weru/377.

On 10th October 1998, he was accused of altering bank discharge dated 10/10/1981 purporting to have been issued by the Kenya Commercial Bank.

He has since denied all the charges levelled against him and was freed on a Ksh 5 million bond with surety of a similar amount.

His lawyer, George Gilbert, however, asked the court to consider a lesser bond saying that his client was not in a position to raise the amount since he was sick.

The hearing is set for July 20th, 2016.

Additional information by Anthony Ndwiga