Businessman Jimmy Wanjigi has been discharged in a Sh500million land fraud case in which he was charged alongside his wife Irene Nzisa and six others.
While dropping the case, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji told Milimani senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi that Wanjigi will instead be a state witness in a fresh case filed against 11 persons who have already been arraigned over the same land ownership.
Mr Ochoi heard Mr Wanjigi was not involved in the land dispute which had been bought by a company wholly owned by his wife, Irene Nzisa.
Praying for the withdrawal of the case the DPP through a state prosecutor James Gachoka said, ‘Wanjigi and the seven others should not have been charged’.
Gachoka told Ochoi that an exhaustive examination of the evidence vis a viz the charge that is before court was done and “it was noted that the persons before court should not have been charged in the first place.”
He said they were victims of a misdirected decision.
Gachoka said Wanjigi and the other seven should have been treated as complainants and witnesses.
Gachoka said he has therefore instructed by the DPP to seek a withdrawal of the case against Wanjigi, his wife Irene Nzisa and others under Section 87 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Under this section 87(a) of the CPC a suspect may arrested in future and charged when cogent evidence is obtained by the investigating agencies.
The DPP said after reviewing the case, he directed the real perpetrators of the fraud to be charged.
“Except Mohamed Nooran who is now deceased the rest of the accused will be treated as witnesses in the fresh case against Henry Njenga and 10 others,” Gachoka stated.
Njenga is a director of Horizon Hills Limited which claimed to have bought the land and issued with a title by the ministry of lands.
Besides Njenga, others suspects named in the fresh land fraud case are David Njenga Samson Kuria, Njenga, Antony Masengo Anabaka, Cissy Kalunde Musembi, Valentine Jelimo Kibire, Lawrence Njogu Mungai, Kepha Odhiambo Okongo and Martin Esakina Papa.
In a short ruling Mr Ochoi terminated the case then discharged the accused under section 87 (a) of the CPC saying, “they will treated as state witnesses in the case against 11 other persons charged before chief magistrate Lucas Onyina.”
In the case Wanjigi his wife Irene Nzisa were charged alongside Himanshu Velji Dodhia alias Himanshu Velji Premchard Dodhia, Kaneez Nooran, Mohamed Hussein Noorani (now deceased), Mohammed Hussanali, Kairu Augustine Thuo and John Nyanjua Njenga.
They had been accused of conspiring to commit a felony on diverse dates between April 9, 2010 and June 2018 by forging a title deed of a land registered as IR.65800 LR No 1870/II/200 deed plan No 175145 dated July 29 1993 under the name of Horizon Hills Limited (HHL).
Jimmy, Irene Nzisa and John Nyanjua Njenga had been charged with obtaining Sh56million from Kenroid Limited pretending they were in a position to sell a parcel of land IR.65800 LR No 1870/II/200 deed plan No 175145 dated July 29 1993 which is subject of another pending high court case.
The land is 0.3314 hectares registered in the name of Auream Limited.
Immediately after he was discharged Wanjigi told the media, he was charged because of his political ambitions to vie for the presidency in the last August 2022 polls.
