Five suspected land fraudsters were on Friday arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Mombasa over their alleged involvement in a fraudulent land registration scheme involving a 12-acre property in Miritini, Mombasa County, valued at more than Ksh.150 million.
The suspects – Edward Marenye Kiguru, Abubakar Madey, Joseph Matheka, Mahmoud Abdalla Mahmoud, and Mohamed Saleh Hassan – are accused of unlawfully transferring ownership of the land, which was originally registered to Kingorani Investment Limited in the early 1990s.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) launched a probe following a complaint about the eviction of employees from the contested property by the suspects.
After reviewing the case file, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) gave consent to charge the five individuals.
Investigations led to a nationwide manhunt. Edward Marenye Kiguru, a registered private surveyor based in Mombasa, was arrested on April 7, 2025.
His alleged accomplices, Mahmoud Abdalla Mahmoud and Mohamed Saleh Hassan, attempted to flee to Nairobi but were arrested at a hotel in the city and returned to Mombasa.
Joseph Matheka, a land administrator recently stationed in Eldoret and formerly serving in Kilifi County, was arrested at his Kangundo Road residence. Meanwhile, Abubakar Madey, a registered physical planner in Mombasa, surrendered to the authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
All five suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court granted them bond terms of Ksh.500,000 or a cash bail of Ksh.100,000, each with one surety of a similar amount.
The matter will be mentioned in court for pre-trial on May 5, 2025.
