By Our Staff Reporter
Former Commissioner of Lands and ex-Baringo Central MP, Sammy Silas Komen Mwaita, has been arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts over an alleged land fraud scheme involving two prime plots in Nairobi West, valued at Sh300 million.
Mr Mwaita appeared before Chief Magistrate BenMark Ekhubi on Monday, where he faced six serious charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony, abuse of office, unauthorised creation of official documents, and providing false information to police.
According to the prosecution, the offences are linked to the fraudulent creation and registration of a title deed for Land Reference No. 209/9968, covering two parcels, each measuring approximately 0.12 hectares, located off Lang’ata Road along Mai Mahiu Road. The properties are estimated to be worth Sh150 million each.
The former commissioner is accused of conspiring with Brian Kiptoo Kiplagat to forge the title documents without lawful authority, with the alleged intention of defrauding two Nairobi businesspersons — Rose Njoki King’au and Micugu Wagatharia.
Court documents state that the conspiracy occurred “on or before 30th March 2001 within Nairobi City County”. It is alleged that while serving as Commissioner of Lands, Mwaita fraudulently authorised the registration of the grant title in favour of Shaba Trustees Limited, a company with no legitimate claim to the land.
One charge accuses Mr Mwaita of abusing the powers of his office to effect the registration without the consent of the rightful owner, Ms King’au. In addition, he is alleged to have made false certificates of title and presented them as genuine documents issued by the Ministry of Lands.
The case has further raised concern due to an incident on 17th March 2020, when Mr Mwaita allegedly misled a police officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), claiming the disputed plots belonged to Shaba Trustees Limited. The falsehood reportedly led to an attempted investigation against the actual owners.
Mr Kiplagat is also charged with giving similar false information to police on 18th March 2020 at the DCI Headquarters on Kiambu Road. The two had previously failed to take a plea on 1st June 2025, citing a High Court order temporarily halting the proceedings. However, those orders were later set aside following a successful challenge by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), leading to their immediate arrest.
After denying the charges, Mr Mwaita, through his legal counsel, requested reasonable bond terms, arguing that he was not a flight risk and had cooperated with investigators throughout the inquiry.
The prosecution did not oppose the bond application but urged the court to impose stringent conditions given the value of the land and the gravity of the charges.
Magistrate Ekhubi granted Mwaita a bond of Sh10 million or an alternative cash bail of Sh2 million, with two contact persons as sureties. He also issued summons for the co-accused, Mr Kiplagat, to appear in court on Tuesday after failing to present himself for plea-taking.
A ruling on Mr Mwaita’s application to dismiss the charges on grounds of technical defects was deferred to Tuesday morning.
