Arrest warrant issued against Registrar in bid to curb graft

By JACOB NG’ETICH

Kajiado, Kenya: Police in Kajiado County have begun a major crackdown targeting individuals involved in land scandals.

Consequently, Mavoko Court has issued a warrant of arrest against the Kajiado County Land Registrar Jonathan Koskei.

Last week, officers acting on a tip off also arrested two suspects in connection with the on-going illegal land transactions.

Victor Baraza Odhiambo, a suspect was arrested in Kajiado town after he was found in illegal possession of hundreds of tittle deeds, green cards and Kenya Revenue Authority assessment documents.

According to the County Commander of police Tito Kilonzi, Odhiambo was alleged to have been working closely with a Mr Koskei, who has since gone underground after the court issued a warrant of arrest over the same allegations.

Great breakthrough

Kilonzi says Robert Obuna, an employee at the Kajiado Lands office and a suspect in the case, was arrested as he prepared to receive the illegal documents allegedly transmitted to the land registry from a private office in Kitengela from Odhiambo.

“The arrest was a great breakthrough for the Government, which is trying to fight corruption in the Lands ministry and other departments,” said Kilonzi.

The county government in July last year stopped all land transactions citing graft in the Kajiado lands registry and after many complaints reached the governor’s office that some portions of land were owned by more than one individual.

Kajiado County Commissioner Albert Kobia said the land scams and forging of court grants on succession papers has become a business of the day in Kajiado County and accused Koskei of operating a parallel land office in Kitengela and Nairobi.

According to Kobia, Koskei has never gone to the Kajiado lands office for more than two months but was allegedly operating from another office in Kitengela where double allocation of tittle deeds has been going on.

Kobia told The Standard on Sunday that three weeks ago while not in office, Koskei issued more than 300 tittle deeds to the Mailwa Group Ranch, which is suspected not to be valid.

“We must bring back sanity to the land sector. We request whoever has illegal title deeds to surrender them,” said Kobia.