A former Member of Parliament and one-time chairman of the Anti-Counterfeit Authority has been arrested by detectives from the DCI’s Land Fraud Investigations Unit over a KSh56 million land fraud scheme that left dozens of investors without land, title deeds, or the greenhouses they had been promised.
Josphat Gichuge Mwirabua, alias “Kabeabea”, the former MP for Tigania East, was arrested after defying court summons, prompting the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kajiado to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Detectives moved swiftly to execute the warrant, and he is currently in custody awaiting arraignment before the Milimani Law Courts before being escorted to Kajiado, where the warrant remains in force.
The fraud unfolded in two separate but related cases, both involving his company, Diamond Property Merchants Ltd, whose offices were located along Kimathi Street in Nairobi.
In the first case, a complainant alleged that in 2016, he and a group of investors purchased plots measuring 50 by 100 feet from the company, each entering into individual agreements and making payments directly into the company’s bank accounts.
In total, the investors claim to havedeposited approximately KSh16,476,950.
They later discovered that the land in Kajiado where their plots were supposedly located had been transferred to other individuals without their knowledge, and subdivision had been carried out without their consent.
In the second case, the suspect is said to have advertised parcels of land in Kajiado that were to be equipped with greenhouses, attracting buyers who paid a combined total of KSh40,140,000. Neither the title deeds nor the promised greenhouses were ever delivered.
Following thorough investigations in both cases, the findings were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who approved charges of Obtaining Money by False Pretences against the suspect.
The DCI used the arrest to remind Kenyans to exercise extreme caution when investing in property, describing the case as a stark illustration of the dangers of land fraud.
