More than 100 fake titles seized in land probe

By Titus Too

Nandi,Kenya: Over 100 title deeds suspected to be fake have been seized in Nandi as the county government raised concerns over illegal settlers.

Dr John Chumo, the county executive in charge of lands and environment said the titles had been issued to some unsuspecting land owners in the region.

Chumo accused a former official in the local lands office for the alleged “issuance of titles without following the right procedures”.

“This is a scam which has been going on and we urge land owners who were issued titles within the last two years to verify if their documents are genuine,” said Chumo.

He said some land owners may not be aware that suspects in the scam had duplicated the titles of their parcels and were using the documents to their benefit.

Chumo said the fake documents might be used to secure credit facilities from financial institutions or used as guarantees in courts.

idle brokers

But the official said the current lands office has been streamlined.

He also appealed to the public to avoid short cut deals through brokers who solicit for hand-outs in the pretence of speeding up the processing of the documents after land transactions. “There are idle brokers who take advantage of the old people at land offices by pretending to offer assistance. These idlers may end up faking documents,” he said.

Chumo who spoke to The Standard yesterday said the scam involving land is being investigated by the local criminal investigation department.

“The land scam, if not checked, may scare away investors in the region. A local athlete was recently conned of his money by land fraudsters,” said Chumo.

Mr Samson Thoya, the Nandi Central and North DCIO said there are cases of land scams in the area.

“We are making follow-ups of cases involving some plots. About three cases are already before the courts and we are still investigating others,” said Thoya. He said some fraudsters make land searches and thereafter produce fake documents which are sold to innocent people.

Recently, wrangles emerged over title deeds issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta last month in the Coast region forcing officials to order a fresh audit of beneficiaries.

In Kilifi, tempers flared when some squatters invaded the local Lands office demanding titles promised by the Head of State but learnt that the Government was withholding the documents while studying complaints raised by leaders.

Authorities confirmed the title deeds affected were to be issued for  the Mavueni Block 3 A and Gathecha Settlement Scheme, which are part of the 19,000 title deeds issued by the President at Karisa Maitha grounds.

Kilifi County Commissioner Erastus Ekidor said some of the titles will not be distributed until an audit is performed.