A fresh legal storm is threatening the tenure of National Land Commission (NLC) Finance and Corporate Planning Director Benard Kibet Cherutich, with a past Sh7 million recovery by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) now at the centre of a court fight over his continued stay in office.
The case has reopened questions about a controversial land compensation transaction in Mombasa in which a private company linked to Cherutich received Sh7 million that the anti-graft agency subsequently classified as an illicit benefit.
The money was not simply a payment appearing in isolation.
It was connected to LR No. MN/VI/3801, a parcel of land compulsorily acquired by the NLC on behalf of the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for construction of the Mombasa Southern Bypass and Kipevu New Highway Container Terminal link road. (Kenya Law)
Now, years after the transaction, petitioner Abdi Billow Osman is asking the High Court to stop Cherutich from being reappointed or continuing as the NLC’s powerful finance director.
Justice David Mburu has certified the case as urgent, with the respondents directed to respond ahead of a mention scheduled for September 23, 2026. (The Star)
At the heart of Osman’s petition is Lorgis Logistics Limited, a private company which court documents and EACC records identify as being associated with Cherutich.
The EACC’s recovered-assets records are particularly damaging to the narrative surrounding the payment.
Its 2018-2019 recovery report records Sh7 million recovered for the National Government and describes Bernard Kibet Cherutich as a director of Lorgis Logistics Limited. The payment is described as an “illicit benefit” arising from compensation paid for LR No. MN/VI/3801. (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission)
The same Sh7 million is also referenced in a High Court judgment dealing with the wider Mombasa compensation controversy.
According to the EACC’s position recorded in that judgment, Sh7 million was transferred to Lorgis Logistics’ ABC Bank account. The company was identified as having Bernard Cherutich and Mercy Wahome as directors. (Kenya Law)
That transaction formed part of a much larger compensation saga.
The parcel was initially valued at about Sh34.5 million. Following subsequent valuation processes, the NLC eventually issued an award of Sh75.27 million for the value of improvements and disturbance, while the wider compensation process involved figures running into more than Sh100 million. The EACC investigated allegations surrounding the payments and their distribution to various beneficiaries. (SheriaHub)
The High Court record shows that the EACC alleged that money paid through an advocates’ account was subsequently distributed to several people and entities associated with NLC officials.
Among the beneficiaries named was Lorgis Logistics, which received Sh7 million.
The anti-graft agency subsequently recorded the Sh7 million as a recovery linked to Cherutich and the company.
That recovery is now being used by Osman to question how a public officer who was allegedly connected to a company that benefited from an NLC compensation process could continue occupying a senior financial position within the same institution.
Osman argues that the issue is not merely whether Cherutich was eventually prosecuted.
His case is that public office carries constitutional integrity obligations beyond the criminal threshold, and that the circumstances surrounding the recovered money should have consequences for his continued occupation of a senior position controlling public finances.
The petitioner says Cherutich entered into a settlement with the EACC that resulted in restitution of the money to the Government of Kenya.
The EACC’s published recovery records independently establish the recovery of Sh7 million and its connection to Lorgis Logistics. They do not, however, by themselves establish a criminal conviction against Cherutich. (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission)
That distinction is important because Cherutich was not charged in the criminal proceedings arising from the wider compensation investigations, according to the current court petition and related reporting.
The wider investigation nevertheless produced serious consequences for several other individuals.
In April 2019, the EACC said it had completed investigations into alleged irregular compensation relating to LR No. MN/VI/3801 and submitted a report to the Director of Public Prosecutions recommending charges against 24 people. The proposed offences included conspiracy to commit an economic crime, abuse of office, financial misconduct, unlawful acquisition of public property, fraudulent acquisition of public property, dealing with suspect property and money laundering. (Live Now Africa)
The Mombasa land file therefore became one of the cases that put senior NLC officials under intense scrutiny.
The High Court record also contains the EACC’s allegations that NLC officials failed to properly safeguard the public interest during the acquisition process, including concerns over searches at the Lands Registry, existing encumbrances and the handling of notices required under the Land Act. (SheriaHub)
Against that background, the Sh7 million recovered from Lorgis Logistics has acquired a new significance.
Osman argues that Cherutich’s alleged ownership and directorship of the private company created a conflict between his personal interests and his responsibilities as an NLC finance official.
He wants the court to block any decision to retain or reappoint Cherutich and has sought orders restricting his access to NLC funds.
The accounts specifically cited in the petition include those held by the NLC at Kenya Commercial Bank, National Bank of Kenya, the Central Bank of Kenya and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. (The People Tribune)
The petitioner further claims that Cherutich’s tenure had expired or was approaching its end and that the NLC could consider his reappointment around September 24.
The timing of the petition is therefore central.
Rather than allowing the alleged conflict-of-interest issue to remain buried in an old anti-corruption recovery report, Osman has dragged the matter back before the High Court just as Cherutich’s continued occupation of the finance directorate is being considered.
The case consequently places two separate questions before the court.
The first is what happened to the Sh7 million and what the EACC’s recovery of the money legally signifies.
The second is whether those circumstances, even in the absence of a criminal conviction against Cherutich, are sufficient to prevent his continued appointment to a senior public finance position.
For now, neither question has been finally determined.
Justice Mburu has only certified the application as urgent and directed the parties to respond. The respondents, including Cherutich, the NLC and EACC, have an opportunity to contest the allegations before the court considers the substantive claims. (The Star)
What is already documented, however, is the paper trail: an NLC compensation process involving LR No. MN/VI/3801, a Sh7 million payment to Lorgis Logistics, EACC’s identification of the amount as an illicit benefit, and its subsequent recovery for the Government.
It is that trail that has now returned to haunt the NLC’s finance director as the court is asked to determine whether the man entrusted with overseeing the commission’s finances should continue occupying the very office from which the controversial transaction once passed.
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