Former Tigania East MP Gichunge arrested over land fraud claims

Former Tigania East Member of Parliament Josphat Gichunge.

Former Tigania East Member of Parliament Josphat Gichunge, alias Kabeabea, has been arrested.

Gichunge was arrested on Monday, June 8, for allegedly duping land buyers out of more than Sh56 million.

In a statement, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the scandal first came to light after a complainant revealed that in 2016, he and several other investors purchased plots measuring 50 by 100 feet from Diamond Property Merchants (DPM) Ltd.

Each investor entered into individual agreements with DPM Ltd and made payments directly into the company’s bank accounts. In total, the buyers deposited approximately Sh16,476,950 into accounts linked to Gichunge.

However, they later discovered that the parcel of land in Kajiado where their plots were allegedly located had been transferred to other individuals without their knowledge, and subdivision had been carried out without their consent.

In a separate case involving the same suspect, complainants reported that, as a director of Diamond Property Merchants Company Ltd, whose offices were located along Kimathi Street in Nairobi, he advertised parcels of land in Kajiado that were to be developed with greenhouses.

The complainants paid various amounts totalling Sh40,140,000, but the promised title deeds were never issued, nor were the greenhouses installed.

As investigations progressed, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) approved charges against the suspect. When summoned to appear in court, he allegedly defied the summons, prompting the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kajiado to issue a warrant for his arrest.

Acting on the warrant, detectives trailed and arrested him. He is currently in custody undergoing processing and is expected to be arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts before being taken to the Kajiado Law Courts, where a separate warrant for his arrest remains in force.