Ruto case witness: I didn’t know of letters

A former Lands commissioner may have given incorrect evidence in a graft case against the Eldoret North MP, a court was told.

Ms Judith Okungu on Tuesday told the court that she was not aware of letters that authorised the excision of parts of forest land at the time she was recording her statement.

In her statements recorded with the CID, Ms Okungu told the officers that the 32 plots were still part of the Ngong forest.

But in court on Tuesday, the witness was shown a legal notice in which the government had excised 82 hectares of the forest and allotted them to individuals.

“I have never seen the document and I have never dealt with direct presidential allotments,” the witness said.

In the case, MP William Ruto and a former aide of retired president Daniel Moi, Mr Joshua Kulei, are accused of fraudulently acquiring more than Sh96 million, pretending that they were in a position to sell land that still belonged to the government.

Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita is charged with abuse of office for allegedly authorising the sale of the plots before they were degazetted. Mr Mwaita was a commissioner of lands.

Ms Okungu came into office in 2003 after the alleged allotments had been completed.

The former commissioner confirmed that the title deeds of the 32 plots were issued by the Lands ministry.

Earlier evidence in the case showed that the ministry of Natural Resources was aware of the sales and then minister John Sambu gave the green light for the plots to be allocated.

Ms Okungu said she had no idea there were letters between the former commissioner of Lands, Mr Wilson Gachanja, and the then minister.

The case continues on Friday.