Woman to pay Nakuru Catholic church Sh23m in land fraud

The Environment and Lands Court has ordered a woman to pay the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru Sh23 million for fraudulently receiving money for selling non-existent land.

Justice Anthony Ombwayo directed Hannah Wairimu Kahiga to refund the Sh19,800,000 paid by the church for the purchase of 11 acres of land in Kiambogo, Naivasha sub-County, with an additional Sh3,960,000 as damages.

The ruling came after it was revealed that Wairimu sold land that belonged to someone else using falsified documents.

“The 1st defendant (Wairimu) has not proved to this court that she legally and procedurally acquired the title in respect to the suit property which she subsequently used to sell the suit property to the plaintiff (Catholic Church),” ruled Justice Ombwayo.

The land in question forms part of the estate of Teresia Wanjiru Wangera, who died in 1981.

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Wairimu allegedly colluded with officers at the land's office to execute the fraudulent sale. The church’s registered trustees, including Maurice Muhatia, Archbishop of Kisumu, Fr Lawrence Mbogo, and Fr Simon Kamau, approached Wairimu in 2014 to purchase the land for a project.

After conducting a land search on July 3, 2014, they found that the land was registered in Wairimu’s name, having been allegedly transferred to her by the original owner, Teresia Wanjiru, in January 2001. Satisfied by the records, the church entered into a sale agreement on July 4, 2014, and paid the money directly to Ms Wairimu before taking possession of the land.

But a month later while subdividing the land, the church received a letter from Mukite Musangi informing them of irregularities in their transaction with Wairimu. They were also shocked to learn that the land had restrictions that were not evident during the initial search.

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This prompted the church to file a lawsuit against Wairimu, the lands registrar, and two others, namely Elizabeth Thimba and Kenneth Thimba. The church sought a court order declaring it the genuine owner of the land and quashing any other claims to the title.

In her defense, Wairimu admitted to selling the land to the church but insisted that it was originally hers.

She claimed to have purchased the land from a woman identified as Teresa Wanjiru Wangare in 1998 for Sh 80,000. However, she failed to produce any evidence of payment or transfer documents.

Wairimu also claimed that restrictions placed on the land by Elizabeth and Kenneth Thimba were removed on on July 2, 2014, a day before the church conducted its search, with the assistance of her lawyer David Mongeri.

She could, however, not produce evidence of payment, nor could she remember when she went to register the document. She also claimed her agreement with the seller had been lost.

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Ms Elizabeth Thimba, who is a daughter-in-law of Teresia Wanjiru Wangera, told the court that she held the original title, which has never been surrendered. As the administrator of Ms Wanjiru's estate, she placed a restriction on the title in 2011 when she suspected illegal activities involving the land.

In his ruling, Justice Ombwayo found that the threshold for fraud had been established against Wairimu, who failed to provide any documents to prove her ownership of the land.

“The 1st Defendant (Ms. Wairimu) has not provided this court with any sale agreement or transfer documents to show how the suit property was transferred from Teresia Wanjiru Wangera to herself. This court thus finds that she has failed to prove that she had a good title to pass to the Plaintiff. The threshold of fraud, which is above a balance of probabilities and below reasonable doubt, has thus been reached,” ruled Justice Ombwayo.

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