Police Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unit have arrested land fraudsters in bribery attempt within its headquarters.
In a statement, DCI said the officers nabbed Jackson Mwangi and Elijah Macharia who are believed to be part of a dreaded well-organized land grabbing cartel that targets elderly white residents in posh Nairobi.
The two were arrested on Thursday, December 7 at the DCI Mazingira Complex premises.
“Mwangi and his accomplice Macharia, were arrested after showing up at the Land Fraud Investigations Unit (LFIU) offices to influence an investigating officer (IO) to go slow on a case in which they are accused of attempting to grab a 0.2026 hactares parcel of land at Thome V area,” read the statement.
According to DCI, Mwangi wanted the investigator to delay the ongoing investigations by two months to allow him to obtain a “fake original” documentation of the land.
Mwangi & Macharia’s Wanted
Unbeknownst to the suspects, their names have for years been on the Unit’s radar of the most notorious land fraudsters in the country.
In this case, a team led by Mwangi had in December last year been thrown out of the land in question, which is located behind Roasters Hotel, after they were found erecting a perimeter wall under his (Mwangi) supervision.
At the time, the case of attempted grabbing had been reported to the LFIU by yet another interested grabber, who melted away as soon as investigations gained momentum.
“After acquiring the proper documents of the parcel, detectives found out that the land belonged to a deceased Kenyan whose wife and two children were being threatened by Mwangi’s ring, after they reported the matter at Kasarani Police Station,” said DCI.
Within the period, Mwangi was (and still is) battling a similar case of grabbing involving a parcel of land at Runda.
Asked to produce proof of ownership of the land, the Jackson’s vanished until recently when they requested to have a sitting with the IO.
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Bribery at DCI Headquarters
Suspecting that they were up to no good, the IO asked them to meet him at his office within DCI Headquarters, which they agreed.
Once in the office, they pleaded with him to halt the investigation process as they had found a way of acquiring fake documents, but they needed January and February to wind up the process.
“You can then take us to court any time in March. We will know how to handle it there,” they said.
Also, Macharia placed Ksh.200,000 on the table as a tip to the officer to give into their wish.
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However, they were unaware that the office they had been ushered into had mounted cameras that recorded all the ongoings.
Afterwards, DCI Operations detectives moved in and whisked them away with the exhibits for processing and arraignment.
“This morning, the case file bearing the appropriate charges was forwarded to the ODPP in Kiambu for directions to have the suspects appear in court.
The ODPP directed the IO to release the two on Ksh.200,000 cash bail to allow the office enough time to peruse the file,” added the statement.
Victims
Preliminary criminal analysis conducted by the DCI Online and Digital Platforms Unit reveals numerous cases of land fraud implicating Jackson’s cartel.
This includes the attempted grabbing of Mr Richard Hooper’s Karen home on January 18, 2023, where he personated to be the Deputy OCS Karen Police Station.
In addition, DCI said the case is pending at Ngong Law Courts and featured in land grabbing documentaries, including the Uncensored Africa documentary “Title Deals” where scores cry foul play after purchasing land parcels only to be fenced off by such cartels as Jackson’s.
