Two individuals have been convicted at the Milimani Law Courts over separate land fraud schemes that left victims stripped of property they had legitimately acquired.
In the first case, 72-year-old Teresia Wanjiku Wainaina was convicted on thirteen counts of forgery, uttering false documents, and forcible detainer following a lengthy investigation into the fraudulent acquisition of land parcels in Ruiru East, Kiambu County.
The land belonged to genuine owners who had been allocated their plots by Nyakinyua Investment Company Limited.
The case originated from a complaint lodged with the DCI by advocates representing ten complainants, who alleged that land duly allocated to them had been invaded and fenced off by Wainaina, who subsequently produced forged title deeds and green cards to claim ownership.
Forensic document examination was central to the prosecution’s case, with analysis conclusively establishing that the documents relied upon by Wainaina were not authentic and had been made by a different author from the legitimate signatories at the Land Registry.
Delivering judgment, Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego convicted Wainaina on all thirteen counts and imposed fines ranging from Ksh 20,000 to Ksh 30,000 per count, with custodial terms of between one and two years to apply in default of payment.
Given the scale of the fraud spanning more than forty counts, the matter was split into three separate case files, with the remaining counts still pending determination.
In the second case, Yegon Reuben was convicted on five counts of fraud after illegally selling a land parcel that originated from a fraudulent subdivision, defrauding a couple of Ksh 1.9 million.
The judgment was delivered on August 4, 2026, by Dolphina Alego.
The case arose after the couple was induced by Reuben to purchase land parcel Ngong/Ngong/9748 for Ksh 1.9 million.
After paying the full purchase price and receiving a title deed in early January 2021, another individual emerged claiming to be the rightful owner.
Investigations established that the couple had unknowingly purchased land created through a fraudulent subdivision of the original parcel, Ngong/Ngong/1212, whose genuine owner was the individual who had challenged their ownership.
Reuben was found guilty of obtaining money by false pretences, obtaining land registration by false pretences, forgery, making a false document, and uttering a false document.
He was sentenced to a cumulative fine of Ksh 210,000 and, in default, two years’ imprisonment on each count, with sentences to run concurrently.
