Lands registrar 'bought' Sh25m property but did not pay a penny

Thika Lands Registrar Felix Mecha Nyakundi. [Courtesy] The Thika Lands Registrar whose property and vehicles were frozen by the anti-corruption court had bought four prime properties in Nairobi but did not pay a cent. High Court judge Esther Maina on Tuesday ordered Felix Mecha Nyakundi not to deal or dispose of more than 100 properties across the country. She also allowed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to hold onto Sh4.26 million cash that investigators found on him. His association with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) shed light on his dealings and subsequent fall from grace. Environment and Lands Court Mugo Mwangi not only ordered the cancellation of the titles held by Nyakundi but also ordered NSSF to surcharge its officers for working in cahoots with his lawyer to 'sell' Nyakundi houses without paying a penny. Nyakundi, his wife Stela Nyaboke Otwori, and a company called Festemagra Investment Ltd had sued NSSF and Morara Ngisa and Company Advocates claiming that they had bought four houses in Nairobi. In their case before Justice Mugo Mwangi, Nyakundi and Nyaboke claimed that the agreement was to pay Sh25.6 million. Wired money Nyakundi, who was the star witness, claimed that he paid for the four houses in cash by wiring the money electronically to Morara Ngisa in 2016. He said that he had no direct contact with NSSF. According to court records, Nyakundi said he did not give his lawyer instructions for a professional undertaking with Equity Bank. Nyakundi said that he learned that NSSF had clamped the houses and ordered tenants to leave. NSSF, on the other hand, said that Morara Ngisa had given a professional undertaking that Equity was financing Nyakundi. According to the Fund, the money was never remitted as had been agreed upon. NSSF argued that for the first house, Nyakundi was supposed to pay Sh3.3 million, Sh6 million for the second, Sh5.5 million for the third unit, and Sh1.7 million for the fourth house as at July 31, 2016. NSSF said it withdrew its agreements but found that the titles had been changed to Nyakundi's name. Morara Ngisa also denied Nyakundi's claims. He told the court that he had paid all the money that Nyakundi sent him. While denying collusion, the lawyer told the court that there was no evidence to show any failings on his end. Nyaboke told the court that she did not pay any money for the house registered under her name. She said that the title in her name was brought to her by Nyakundi. At the same time, she said that she was unaware of the rent paid by tenants in the houses. Nyaboke also said she could not recall signing any document with NSSF. NSSF said it received four undertakings from Morara Ngisa. It asserted that once it discovered that the professional undertakings were dubious, it concluded that it would have been an exercise in futility attempting to enforce them against the lawyer who was no longer in practice. No evidence The agency urged the court to find there was no evidence to show that Nyakundi had paid the money as he had alleged. It also argued that there was no proof that it had any written agreement between it and Nyakundi. Instead, he had bought the houses from tenant purchasers. Justice Mwangi said, "I must call the purported undertakings for what they are. They were fictitious creations of the 2nd defendant (Morara Ngisa) to perpetrate fraud; they were instruments of fraud. "They were meant to dupe NSSF that Equity Bank Ltd was financing the purchase of the four units on behalf of 'the borrower'. That way, NSSF would release the completion documents to the second defendant confident that their monies would be paid by the bank." According to the judge, the lawyer managed to secure and transfer the completion documents from NSSF to Nyakundi and Festemagra without paying a penny. "Equity Bank Ltd was not involved in any way whatsoever in the transactions herein. The first defendant (NSSF) had not borrowed any money from Equity Bank Ltd," said Justice Mwangi. He ordered tenants in the four houses to vacate within 80 days or be evicted.

Lands registrar 'bought' Sh25m property but did not pay a penny

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