A businessman has filed a petition seeking the removal of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji accusing him of nepotism, favouritism, improper motives and corrupt practices, among other accusations.
Through lawyers Danstan Omari, Cliff Ombetta and Shadrack Wambui, Francis Njeru accuses Haji of interfering with a land case in which a brother of Sports cabinet secretary Amina Mohammed had been charged with fraud.
This is the second petition filed in a bid to remove Haji from office. Another petition was filed by the family of murdered Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen.
Njeru claims the DPP mismanaged the property dispute between him, China Road Bridge Corporation, and ARJ Capital.
The property in question is along Mombasa road at Kyangombe village in Embakasi and Njeru has claimed ownership.
Njeru tells the Public Service Commission (PSC) that after investigations, the directors of ARJ Capital Ahmed Rashid Jibril and Farah Ali Mohamed who are allegedly related to Haji were charged in January 2020.
They faced among other charges, conspiracy to defraud, making a false document, and obtaining registration of land by false pretences.
But on March 2, 2020, Njeru claims the DPP made an application to withdraw the matter but his lawyer objected to the application. Milimani magistrate Rosalyne Aganyo upheld the objection ruling that the ends of justice will be met by disallowing the application to withdraw the charges.
“I hereby do not allow the application and do order that the matter shall proceed for hearing in the normal manner before this court to its conclusion.” Ruled Aganyo.
Jibril and his wife Farrah are accused that on or about October 19,2015 at unknown place in Kenya, jointly with others not before court conspired to defraud Francis Nyaga Njeru of his parcel of land valued at Sh75 million.
It is alleged they entered into a tenancy lease agreement with China Road and Bridges purporting that they were the registered owner of the land.
“The offences as charged are serious and involve land which is very emotive in Kenya today. It also pertains to proprietary rights protected by the constitution and the serious crimes such as those in this case should proceed to final trial before a competent court of law,” the court ruled.
Njeru says the DPP has also sought a revision of the orders of the court that allowed him to pursue private prosecution which application is still pending.
He has accused Haji of interrupting the matter for his own personal interest which is meant to ensure that the two directors are not prosecuted.
He adds has since established that the basis behind the DPP’s ‘stubborn refusal to prosecute the suspects and his concerted efforts to have Criminal Case No 2144 of 2019 R v. Ahmed Rashid Jibril and Farrah Ali Mohamed withdrawn’.
The businessman claims the move is informed by close family relations with the accused persons who are his first cousins and another a brother to one of Kenya’s influential Cabinet Secretaries.
Njeru says that the actions of the DPP demonstrate a self-serving, nepotistic or egomaniac public officer that long abandoned his oath of office to protect his alleged family members, relatives, friends and relatives.
“The ODPP has sought a revision against his bid to privately prosecute the offenders of the Petitioner and instead commenced criminal prosecution of the Petitioner in an attempt to muzzle him and/or frustrate his quest for justice,” Njeru says.
He argues that all these inconsistencies by the DPP are a clear indication of gross misconduct, his incompetency and utter willful failure to discharge his mandate as spelt out by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and further, raises the question of whether the Director of Public Prosecutions had a personal interest in the Petitioner’s matter.
Background of the case
Java House proprietor Ahmed Rashid Jibril battled the case on which he was accused of allegedly using two fictitious documents to claim the ownership of the prime land off Mombasa Road in Nairobi.
Jibril together with his wife Farrah Ali Mohamed had already been charged in court for fraudulent acquisition of the contested land worth Sh150 million.
The duo were accused of allegedly grabbing the property from city businessman Francis Njeru and leasing it to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which uses it as a warehouse.
Initially, Jibril had told the court that he bought the property L.R 143067 from Joshua Kiptoo Toroitich through his firm ARJ Capital Limited with the transfer finalized in 2015.
But Jibril later changed tune, claiming that he purchased the property from Haji Buko contrary to initial court documents.
Jibril presented records claiming he purchased the contested land through Garane and Associates Advocates and precipitating the deed of transfer in 2015 after paying Sh104.2 million and an overpayment of Sh15 million for legal fees.
The High Court had ordered investigations into the alleged land fraud after Jibril and his wife was charged with conspiracy to defraud, making a false title document, obtaining the land’s registration by false pretense.
At the time point, Jibril had claimed he bought the land not from Buko but from Toroitich in the same period in 2015.
But upon reviewing the documents, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) applied to terminate the case to pave way for more investigations.
But in March 2020, CRBC and Jibril suffered a major blow after the court dismissed an application by the DPP seeking to drop charges against alleged fraudsters.
Milimani court senior resident magistrate Roseline Aganyo ruled that the criminal case against Jibril and Mohammed was of great public interest.
Records from the Lands Registrar submitted in court revealed that the parcel in dispute under Certificate of Title Number IR 176998 was first issued to Eliud Simon on 13/7/2016 and subsequently transferred to the Njeru on 12/4/2017.
A letter dated 5/11/2013 from the Director of Survey to the DCI indicated that Deed Plan number 238416 claimed by the three suspects did not originate from the Directorate of Survey.
In his ruling on the matter in February 2019, Environment and Land Court Judge Bernard Eboso noted that wide inconsistencies in the documents submitted the suspects.
“The purported title documents exhibited by the applicant are forgeries which had been interrogated by the Lands Departments and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and had been found to be pure forgeries,” he said.
Investigations had found that Land Reference Number 20273 purportedly compromised in Grant Number IR 63990 does not exist in the lands records.
Signatures on the documents also did not originate from officers in the Lands Registry.
Justice Eboso then urged the DCI and the Director of Public Prosecution to further investigate Omar’s affidavits and prefer charges that saw them take a plea.
“On or about 19th of October 2015 at an unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, jointly with others not before the court, conspired to defraud Francis Nyaga Njeru of his parcel of land LR NO. 20273/1 IR 177998/1 valued at Sh75,000,000 by entering into a tenancy lease agreement with China Road and Bridges purporting that you were the registered owner of the land. A fact you knew to be false,” the charge sheet read.
War with Kenya Airways
Beside the Mombasa road land tussle, Jibril has been embroiled in several land tussles in Nairobi something that has earned him ‘perennial land grabber’ tag from city residents.
Currently, Jibril who’s the proprietor of ARJ properties and 748 Airlines is fighting for a piece of land in JKIA with Kenya Airways. The land in question is on North Airport Road and is valued at shs 300million.
Kenya Airways filed an application in court on the grounds that the national carrier was the registered owner of the property, claiming that 748 Air Services had unlawfully occupied the facility and had refused to vacate it despite numerous demands. “There is no justification, contractual or otherwise to anchor the defendant’s continued occupation to vacate the property,” Kenya Airways said in an affidavit, accompanied by a copy of its title deed. The airline said it had issued eviction notices to 748 Air Services, which had sub-leased the property without notice or consent.
Milimani Commercial Courts Principal Magistrate DM Kivuti on July 16, 2021, ordered the JKIA Airport police station to remove the charter operator 748 Air Services from the property at JKIA until a dispute between it and national carrier Kenya Airways was heard and determined.
According to documents before the court, Kenya Airways had bought the property at a public auction in July 2014 for KES150 million shilling (USD1.3 million). It had previously been owned by African Airlines International limited (formerly African Express Airways International Limited).
In continuation of the property dispute between Kenya Airways and 748 Air Services, a Kenya court has made an about-turn on a previous order and has ordered the national carrier to stop evicting its tenant from offices at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta.
748 Air Services, on July 26, filed a legal suit against Kenya Airways for malicious damage worth millions of shillings and harassment of its employees. This came after Kenya Airways on July 16 won an eviction order against 748 Air Services in the Milimani Commercial Courts in Nairobi, which a judge ordered the JKIA Airport police station to enforce.
In a turnaround, a different Milimani Commercial Court judge on July 26 passed a temporary injunction, restraining Kenya Airways from further evicting 748 Air Services pending an inter-partes hearing of the dispute (Inter-partes means both parties will have advance notice of the hearing and are both required to attend). The court also directed the police chief at the airport to ensure compliance with the new order, reports The Citizen newspaper.
According to an affidavit by 748 Air Services managing director Moses Mwangi, the company had not been served an eviction order.
Still, armed police officers on Friday, July 23, had raided the disputed premises at 748 Plaza on Airport North Road in Embakasi. In so doing, they had broken the premises’ entrance glass door and had damaged office furniture and fittings. This had disrupted normal operations and had left the airline with significant losses. “The actions of the plaintiff have caused and continue to cause great losses to our company,” Mwangi said. Following the raid, staff was unable to trace important documents, records, and machinery. “We have always enjoyed peaceful and quiet occupation of the premises since the inception of our lease agreement on February 1, 2021, until the plaintiff and its agents raided our offices on July 23, 2021,” he said.
According to Mwangi, 748 Air Services paid rent for the premises to the previous occupant, African Airlines International.
In what is yet another land grab attempt, On September 15th, 2021, the land CS Faridah Karoney outed the crooked ways of Jibril when wrote to Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka saying that LR 9042/1051 belongs to Kenya Airways.
The CS told Kilavuka that LR 9042/1051 IR 233954 measuring approximately 0.6038 hectares and more particularly delineated on land survey plan number 405888 with a lease hold term of 50 years from April 1, 1996 is registered in the name of Kenya Airways.
She said the same parcel was initially registered as LR 9042/584 IR 67128 measuring approximately 0.6038 hectares and registered in the name of Kenya Airways limited.
Karoney added that the term of the title was 33 years from July 8, 1978.
The term of the title expired and was renewed vide LR 9042/1051 IR 233954.
“There were claimants of the same title LR 9042 /584 allegedly registered as IR 69013. The said document did not emanate from this office,” she said.
Karoney added that the correct register for title IR 69013 is LR 4953/2804.
She said the parcel measures approximately 2.004 hectares and was initially registered in the name of Jimmy Angwenyi.
“The term of the title is 99 years from May 1 1993 and the property is situated in Thika Municipality,” she said.
Concerned city residents are now asking the relevant investigative bodies, DCI, NIS to jump in on the case as the bully Jibril is determined to grab the JKIA land in what is high octane impunity given his blood relations with CS Amina, he brags of Statehouse immunity.
More importantly, will DPP Haji continue shielding his land grabbing relatives from prosecution as alleged by the petition?
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