Ex-Lands minister Amos Kimunya acquitted in Sh60m Nyandarua land graft case

Audio By Vocalize

Former Lands Minister Amos Kimunya and three others have been acquitted of all corruption-related charges stemming from the alleged irregular allocation of a Sh60 million parcel of public land in Nyandarua County to a private company.

 Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against Kimunya, former Director of Land Adjudication and Settlement Lilian Wangari Njenga, and businessman Junghae Wainaina, who is linked to Midlands Limited.

 The court noted that the prosecution had called 17 witnesses in an attempt to demonstrate that Kimunya abused his office in 2005, during his tenure as Lands minister, by facilitating the allocation of 25 acres of public land in Nyandarua to Midlands Limited.

However, the magistrate ruled that the evidence presented was insufficient to sustain convictions on any of the counts.

 “ After evaluating the evidence on record, the conclusion of the court is that it finds that all the accused persons are not guilty and proceed to acquit them under section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Magistrate Barasa ruled.

 On the charges against Kimunya, which included abuse of office, breach of trust, and fraudulent disposal of public property, the court found no direct link between the former minister and the impugned allocation of 25 acres of public land to Midlands Limited.

 It was alleged that the company had initially applied for only 2 to 3 acres for agricultural use, particularly sweet potato farming, but later acquired a significantly larger and more valuable parcel measuring 25 acres for potato processing.

 "This court finds that the prosecution has not satisfied the guilt of Kimunya in the three counts, including abuse of office," Magistrate Barasa ruled.

 On whether Kimunya used his ministerial position to improperly benefit Midlands Limited, the court noted that suspicion alone, however strong, could not ground a conviction.

 "Suspicion, however strong, cannot form the basis of a finding against the accused," the magistrate held.

 Further, the court observed that there was no proof that Kimunya was present at Ardhi House on June 30, 2005 — the date the letter of offer was allegedly issued — and found no reason to doubt that alibi.

 However, Magistrate Barasa found no evidence showing that Kimunya instructed or influenced his co-accused, former lands official Wangari, to issue a letter of offer to the private company or any other official at the ministry on issuance of allotment documents.

 "This court has found no evidence was availed before it to show that he issued a verbal communication to Wangari to confer the 25 acres of land to Midlands Limited," he stated.

 The court also found no evidence that he caused the transfer or allocation of the land to Midlands Limited.

 While his position as Lands Minister and his association with the company may have raised suspicion, the court reiterated that suspicion alone cannot form the basis of a criminal conviction.

 Regarding Wangari, who signed the letter of offer to Midlands Limited, the court found that the evidence did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that she abused her office or committed fraud.

 "I find that the evidence presented before this court does not prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the second accused person as far as abuse of office or fraud is concerned, and I therefore find in favour of the second accused person," the magistrate ruled.

 On the ownership and allocation process, the court noted that documents presented did not show that the land in question was registered under the Ministry of Agriculture or the Njabini Agricultural Training Centre.

 Instead, evidence indicated that the Settlement Fund Trustees had the legal mandate to allocate the land and that the process followed appeared procedural.

 The magistrate also faulted the prosecution for failing to call key witnesses who could have clarified whether fraud occurred or whether due process was followed.

 This omission, the court said, left significant gaps in the prosecution’s case.

 The court similarly cleared Wainaina and Midlands Limited, finding no evidence that they fraudulently obtained approval for the land application.

 "It is the finding of this court that the prosecution has failed to prove that they fraudulently obtained the approval of the application, and the conclusion is that they cannot be held culpable for fraud," Barasa ruled.

 The charges stemmed from the 2005 allocation of 25 acres of public land, part of a 75-acre plot originally set aside for the Njabini Agricultural Training Centre in Nyandarua, to Midlands Limited, a private company, at an estimated value of Sh60 million.

 The land in question was originally part of a 75-acre plot allocated to the Njabini Agricultural Training Centre (ATC), a government facility established to train farmers and promote agricultural development.

 The accused had previously been acquitted in 2020 by then Anti-Corruption Magistrate Felix Kombo, but the Director of Public Prosecutions successfully appealed that decision.

 The High Court ordered the accused to defend themselves, a position upheld by the Court of Appeal before the matter returned to the magistrate's court for full hearing and final determination.