By TWV Reporter
Former Lands Minister Amos Kimunya has vehemently denied allegations of irregularly transferring a 25-acre parcel of public land in Nyandarua County to a private entity, dismissing the prosecution’s case as baseless and flawed.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Harrison Baraza at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on 14 July 2025, Kimunya, who served as Lands Minister during the alleged 2005 transactions, refuted all five graft-related charges against him, including abuse of office, failure to disclose private interests, fraudulent disposal of public property, and breach of public trust.“No prosecution witness has provided credible evidence to support any of these charges,” Kimunya asserted, describing the accusations as politically motivated and rooted in a misunderstanding of his ministerial role.
The charges relate to the alleged illegal transfer of land from a 75-acre parcel allocated to the Njabini Agricultural Training Centre, a state-run institution, to Midlands Limited, a private company purportedly linked to Kimunya and co-accused Lilian Wangiri Njenga and Junghae Wainaina.
Under questioning from his lawyer, Karathe Wandugi, Kimunya clarified that Midlands Limited was a public company owned by approximately 3,000–4,000 Nyandarua farmers, not a state entity. “Midlands was incorporated by private individuals to enhance agricultural produce value and stabilise market prices,” he explained. He denied issuing any communication allocating land to Midlands, stating, “No document bearing my signature, or that of anyone acting on my behalf, exists to support these claims.
”Kimunya’s defence highlighted a 2006 “discharge of charge” document, signed by the then Permanent Secretary (PS) for Agriculture, whom Kimunya described as the “ultimate custodian” of the land under the Settlement Fund Trustees (SFT). The PS confirmed that due process was followed in the land’s registration.
However, Kimunya criticised the PS for admitting during cross-examination that he deliberately withheld a key witness involved in the transaction, claiming they would not “add value” to the case. Kimunya also lambasted the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for shoddy investigations.
He noted that the EACC’s lead investigator, a trained valuer, failed to verify the land title or registered owner, neglecting provisions of the Agriculture Act governing the SFT. “The investigator relied on assumptions and hearsay,” Kimunya argued, pointing to a former Agriculture PS who mistakenly assumed land occupation equated to legal ownership, thus sparking the controversy.
