By Judy Ogutu

The Attorney General says Agriculture Minister, William Ruto and seven others were charged following the alleged sale of public land.

Through Senior State Counsel Vincent Wohoro, the AG said on Tuesday that the land in question was public land.

"The purported alienation of land was not pursuant to laid down procedures. The status is that it is a forest reserve land. Those titles are not legitimate," he said.

It was established the land had not been gazetted, the judges heard.

Wohoro told Judges Jean Gacheche, Leonard Njagi and Roselyn Wendoh the AG was working in public interest and not driven by any ulterior motives.

The AG, Wohoro said, was constitutionally obligated to ensure Ruto and his co-accused get a fair trial.

He was making submissions in a constitutional suit Ruto and others have filed challenging the charges pending at the magistrate’s court.

Ruto and Berke Commercial Ltd are charged with obtaining Sh96 million from the Kenya Pipeline Company’s Finance Manager Hellen Njue by false pretence.

Particulars of the charge are that on September 6, 2001, in Nairobi, the two obtained the money by pretending they were in a position to sell land in Ngong Forest.

Others charged are former Lands Commissioner Sammy Mwaita, Joshua Kulei, Priority Ltd, Celtic Multisystems Ltd, Somog Ltd and Sovereign Group Ltd.

On Ruto’s claims that the charge sheet was defective, Wohoro said that could be amended. He said that if the application by Ruto and company were allowed, it would open a floodgate of cases. The AG also denied the applicants had been discriminated against.

Mwaita, through his lawyer, Ochieng’ Oduol denied issuing the titles but only executed his duties as Commissioner of Lands.

The case was adjourned to November 17.