By Grace Gilo
Three individuals, Paul Kirwa Samoei, Julius Kipkosgei Ruto and Tamar Cheptoo Birgen, suspected of involvement in an organized criminal group targeting landowners in Eldoret, have been arraigned at the Chief Magistrate Court in Eldoret.
The suspects were apprehended by the Land Fraud Investigations Unit (LFIU) detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Headquarters following a thorough investigation.
They stand accused of using a forged Title Deed to unlawfully obtain an eviction order, which they then used to evict legitimate landowners on October 7, 2022.
The victims who had occupied the 20-acre parcel of land in the Ngeria area of Kapseret constituency in Uasin Gishu County since 2001, reported the incident to the DCI headquarters on January 31, 2024.
According to DCI, the victims requested an inquiry into the suspicious acquisition of a title deed on their land, which was registered as Pioneer/Ngeria Block 1(EATEC)/1980.
The genuine victims claimed to have purchased the same land from East African Tanning Extract Company Limited (EATEC) in 2001.
The Ministry of Lands confirmed that they did not issue the title deed in question and further investigations revealed several discrepancies in the documentation presented by the suspects.
“Painstaking investigations revealed that the Ministry of Lands did not issue the title deed used by the fraudsters. Furthermore, Government Printers did not print the title deed, and no records of its issuance were found in the land registry presentation book,” stated the DCI on X.
Additionally, the green card for the land was not serialized, as it was not captured in the Uasin Gishu County land registry data.
“A document examiner’s report also indicated that stamps and signatures on an acknowledgement note showing payment for the land to the late Hon. Mark Too in the presence of advocate Paul Birech had been forged,” added the DCI.
As a result, the accused face 7 charges and have been released on a Ksh500,000 bond pending a pretrial hearing scheduled for July 22, 2024, at court no. 5 in Eldoret.