The trial of former Kajiado Land Registrar Jonathan Kimutai Koskei and his alleged accomplice Victor Baraza Odhiambo continued yesterday as the complainant, Luiza Chepkesio, testified in court.
Koskei is accused of working with Odhiambo to fraudulently take ownership of a piece of land in Kitengela, leading to a dispute worth KSh 14 million.
The two appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lukas Onyina, with Luiza being represented by lawyer Gregory Ndege.The court heard that Luiza and Koskei registered Hadiko Company Limited on December 2, 2011, after agreeing to buy a piece of land together.
The land, known as LR Kajiado Kitengela/300, was located in Milimani, Kitengela. Koskei, who was the land registrar at the time, informed Luiza that his employer’s vendors had land for sale in the area.
After viewing the property, the two agreed to buy it for KSh 1,050,000, signing a sale agreement on June 7, 2011. The payments were made, and the transfer documents were prepared in the name of Hadiko Company Limited.
After acquiring the land, Luiza and Koskei planned to construct maisonettes for resale. They designed architectural plans and received approval from the Kajiado County Council. Construction began, and a caretaker was placed on the site to oversee the work.
Luiza introduced Koskei to the caretaker as her business partner, and both would occasionally visit the site to check on the progress.
However, Koskei later stopped visiting, even before the foundation was fully completed. In mid-2016, Luiza received an unexpected call from the caretaker informing her that Garam Investments had issued a notice to vacate the property.
The reason given was that the land had been used as collateral for a loan at I&M Bank amounting to KSh 13 million. Shocked by this development, Luiza immediately reached out to Koskei, who denied any knowledge of the loan.
Determined to find the truth, she engaged her lawyer, who went to Garam Auctioneers and discovered that the title deed was in Koskei’s name and had indeed been used to secure a loan at the bank.
The prosecution claims that Koskei and Odhiambo fraudulently prepared a fake land sale agreement dated March 1, 2013.
This document falsely indicated that Koskei had sold the property to Odhiambo, even though it legally belonged to Hadiko Company Limited.
The court also heard that Odhiambo fraudulently registered the land in his name at the Kajiado County Land Registry.
The property, which includes a house, is valued at KSh 14 million. Further accusations were made against Koskei, alleging that between September 2013 and February 2014, he deliberately destroyed the green card and other important documents to obstruct justice.
These documents would have been used as evidence in court. Additionally, Koskei is accused of abusing his office between May 3, 2012, and August 5, 2013, by illegally transferring the land to himself and using it as security for the KSh 13 million loan.
Both Koskei and Odhiambo are currently out on bond after being granted bail of KSh 1 million each.
The trial continues as the court seeks to determine whether the two conspired to defraud Luiza of her rightful property.
