Politician Agnes Kagure has won a key legal battle over a Sh100 million parcel of land in Karen after the High Court rejected an attempt by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to withdraw forgery charges against a lawyer linked to the case.
Justice Martin Muya dismissed an application by DPP Renson Ingonga seeking to overturn a Milimani court decision that barred the withdrawal of charges against lawyer Elms Guy Spencer.
“I find no good reason to interfere with the trial magistrate’s decision to disallow the application for withdrawal of the charges,” Justice Muya ruled, adding that the stay orders issued earlier were vacated as the appeal lacked merit.
The DPP had moved to the High Court after Milimani Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi declined two earlier requests to withdraw charges of forgery, uttering false documents and attempted fraudulent acquisition of property against Spencer.
The case centres on the will of British billionaire Roger Bryan Robson, who died in 2012. The will is disputed by Kagure, who maintains she legally bought the Karen land from Robson in 2011 for Sh100 million.
Prosecutors allege Spencer used a forged will to obtain ownership of two parcels of land, LR No. 2327/10 and LR No. 2327/117 both located in Karen. Spencer alleges he was the lawful custodian of Robson’s will, which directed that the land be sold to support needy children and environmental conservation.
Spencer was arrested and charged after Kagure complained about the authenticity of Robson’s signature on the will.
In declining the withdrawal, Magistrate Ekhubi noted that the DPP had failed to inform inform he complainant, Kagure, before seeking to drop the case, despite having approved the charges less than a year earlier.
At the time, related proceedings were ongoing at the Family Court, where Justice Hillary Chemitei stated that the will met the basic requirements of validity. “For now, this court is satisfied that the will meets all the requirements and parameters of a valid will,” ruled Justice Chemitei.
The DPP relied on that finding to justify withdrawing the criminal case.
Justice Muya directed the file be placed before Magistrate Ekhubi in February for directions.
Justice Muya, however, said Justice Chemitei had not made a definitive finding on whether the will was forged.
“The judge did not make a clear finding as to whether there was forgery or not and left the matter to the other courts with the necessary jurisdiction to decide,” he said.
Justice Muya further faulted the DPP for failing to notify Kagure of the bid to withdraw the charges, calling it “a deliberate attempt to sideline” the complainant. “This, therefore, smacks of a deliberate attempt to sideline the exparte applicant in the important decision of withdrawing charges relating to a dispute concerning a matter of land ownership.”
He further noted that the DPP had sought to withdraw the case as early as 2018, well before the Family Court ruling on the will.
