The widow of former Finance Minister Arthur Magugu scored her first win after the High Court allowed her to join Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Amin Mohamed in a Sh17 billion land dispute in Muthiaga North.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
In a ruling on Thursday, August 1, High Court judge Lawrence Mugambi further allowed Ms Margaret Magugu to join Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga as well as the director of survey over the alleged failure to conclude a probe into alleged forgeries of documents relating to the land.
The court agreed with Ms Magugu that the DCI and the DPP have been mentioned adversely for violating her constitutional rights, for allegedly failing to act on the complaint she lodged with the police in 2018.
The director of survey was joined in the dispute for failing to cancel the deed plans despite recommendations by its officers that the same be recalled and cancelled for having been obtained irregularly.
The widow, through lawyer JM Kariuki, is accusing Karura Investment of illegally hiving off part of her 82.4 acres in Muthaiga North. Karura Investments Limited, which claims to own the land, wanted the case dismissed arguing, through Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi, that it was another attempt by Ms Magugu to litigate the matter after failing in previous attempts. Evidence presented in court showed that Mr Magugu obtained the title deed for a 101-acre piece of land in Muthaiga from Joreth Ltd on December 16, 1982.
Mr Magugu used the land, registered as LR number 12422/9, as collateral when his company Commercial Commodities Ltd borrowed Sh25 million from Grindlays Bank, now trading as Stanbic.
In November 1988 Mr Magugu instructed his surveyor to initiate subdivision of the property into two parcels – one measuring 88.6 acres and another 12.9 acres. The process took five years, and on October 25, 1993, the land was eventually subdivided into LR number 12422/203 measuring 12.9 acres and LR number 12422/204 measuring 88.6 acres.
But on the same morning, another application to subdivide the larger portion was made, and the subdivision process was completed within three-and-a-half hours. The application was given the same computation number as Mr Magugu’s from five years earlier – 23380.
The larger portion was split into two, one measuring 6.1 acres registered under Mr Magugu. The title deed was finalised in 2004, 11 years later. Another parcel, measuring 82.4 acres was registered almost immediately and registered to Karura Investments Ltd and the title deed was ready on the same day, October 25, 1993. Ms Magugu said the family discovered the changes when she filed a succession case....CONTINUE READING>>
