Arthur Magugu's widow wants DCI, DPP roped in Sh17 billion land dispute
Margaret Wairimu Magugu, the widow of former Cabinet Minister Arthur Magugu (inset) at her Ridgeways home on May 3, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Mrs Magugu says the land transfer was flagged by the Ministry of Land as a forgery.
- Mrs Magugu lodged a complaint with the National Lands Commission in 2016 and filed a case.
The widow of former Finance Minister Arthur Magugu now wants the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) roped into a Sh17 billion property dispute, accusing investigators of sitting on her complaint for more than six years.
Ms Margaret Wairimu Magugu says in the application that DCI boss Amin Mohamed and his team have deliberately failed to conclude investigations relating to her complaint against Karura Investment Ltd in 2018, thereby violating her constitutional rights.
The widow accuses Karura Investment of illegally hiving off part of her land in Muthaiga North and that the firm is in the process of dividing and disposing of the disputed land.
Ms Magugu also seeks to enjoin Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga in the matter for failing to implement recommendations by an investigating officer that reportedly found that the subdivision and registration of the 82.4 acres was done using forged documents.
“The fifth respondent (the DPP) has violated the petitioner’s fundamental rights in failing to make a decision concerning any recommendations made by the fourth respondent (the DCI). This is despite countless reminders sent by the petitioner,” she says in an affidavit.
Mrs Magugu wants the High Court to allow her to join all the persons she accuses of violating, denying and infringing on her rights.
According to documents presented in court, the former minister in President Daniel arap Moi’s administration obtained the title deed for a 101-acre piece in Muthaiga from Joreth Ltd on December 16, 1982.
Magugu used the land, registered as LR12422/9, as collateral when his company – Commercial Commodities Ltd – took a Sh25 million loan from Grindlays Bank Ltd, now trading as Stanbic.
In November, 1988 Magugu instructed his surveyor to initiate the division of the property into two parcels – one measuring 88.6 acres and another 12.9.
The process took five years. On October 25, 1993 the land was eventually subdivided into LR12422/203 measuring 12.9 acres and LR12422/204 measuring 88.6 acres.
On the same morning, however, another application to split the larger portion was made.
The subdivision was complete in three-and-a-half hours. The application was given the same computation number as Magugu’s from five years earlier – 23380.
The larger portion was split into two, one measuring 6.1 acres and which was registered as Magugu’s. The title deed was finalised in 2004.
Another parcel, measuring 82.4 acres was registered almost immediately and registered to Karura Investments Ltd.
The title deed was ready on the same day, October 25, 1993.
Mrs Magugu says the family discovered the changes when she filed a succession case.
“The petitioner avers that she genuinely believes the registration of the parcel LR12422/318 in the name of Arthur Kinyanjui Magugu was meant to hoodwink, deceive, cleanse and conceal the element of fraud perpetrated on all the land known as LR12422/204, to the benefit of the first respondent (Karura) who was illegally and fraudulently registered as the proprietor of parcel LR12422/319,” she says.
She points out in the affidavit that when the first division was done and the registration numbers obtained, officials went ahead and made two more subdivisions on the same day, “which is practically and logically impossible”.
Mrs Magugu says the transfer was flagged by the Ministry of Land as a forgery, given that embossment of documents was used on transfers in 1993 and not franking, which lends credence to the fact that the transfer was done hurriedly in 2014.
She accuses the Chief Lands Registrar and the Director of Survey of blatantly ignoring irregular subdivision of the parcels without following the right procedure.
Karura Investments Ltd wants the case dismissed, arguing that the petition is the sixth attempt by Mrs Magugu to litigate the matter, with previous attempts having been dismissed or cases withdrawn after failing to obtain favourable orders.
“The petition, having been filed with the full knowledge that the dispute has already been adjudicated by a competent court and without disclosure of that fact, to the court can only amount to an attempt to manoeuvre the jurisdiction of this court to obtain wholly undeserving orders not in pursuance of justice,” the company sad through Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi.
But Mrs Magugu says in her affidavit that the petition at Environment and Land Court was struck out for being time-barred and that the matter was not determined on merit.
She says the Chief Lands Registrar received letters from land officers at the Directorate of Survey that pointed out that the subdivision was irregular and recommended cancellation.
However, the registrar has refused to act on the recommendations, thereby violating her rights, the affidavit says.
Despite confirming in writing and recommending cancellation of the deed plans, she adds, the Director of Survey failed to act as per the law and instead allowed the illegal subdivision to subsist in its records.
Mrs Magugu lodged a complaint with the National Lands Commission in 2016 and filed a case at the Environment and Land Court but the suit was subsequently dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
She accuses land officials and Karura Investment Ltd of creating a parallel title deed, uttering a false transfer document dated October 25, 1993 and presenting a false discharge of charge documents.
According to Mrs Magugu, the signatures used in the process were forgeries and that three forensic examiners confirmed the same, only for the DCI to order another examiner who differed with the first three.
