Three individuals are in police custody over alleged fraudulent land activities in Uasin Gishu.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the three are alleged to be targeting land owners by issuing eviction orders.
The DCI said investigations into the matter began when people who had allegedly lost their land made a report in January.
This is after losing huge parcels of land they had been occupying since 2001 within Uasin Gishu County.
“Investigations were initiated following a letter received at the DCI headquarters on January 31, 2024, from the affected landowners,” the DCI said.
The investigations were conducted by detectives from Land Fraud Investigations Unit (LFIU) based at the DCI Headquarters.
The DCI said that upon investigation, it was found that the individuals had allegedly forged a title deed to file an application before court.
They then obtained an eviction order used to evict genuine land owners on October 7, 2022.
“Investigations revealed that the Ministry of Lands did not issue the title deed used by the individuals,” DCI said.
“Furthermore, the title deed was not printed by Government Printers, and no records of its issuance were found in the land registry presentation book,” DCI said.
The DCI further noted that the green card for the land was not serialized, as it was not captured in the Uasin Gishu County land registry data.
According to the DCI, a document examiner’s report also indicated that stamps and signatures on an acknowledgement note showing payment for the land had allegedly been forged.
The three who were arraigned in court have denied the charges and released on Sh500,000 bond, with the pretrial scheduled for July 22, 2024.
