Fate of Former Nairobi PC Chelogoi, Lands Official Sealed in Ksh 1.5B Fraud Case

The Nairobi court will determine the fate of the former Nairobi Provincial Commissioner, Davis Nathan Chelogoi and the official in the Ministry of Lands in a fraud case involving Ksh 1.5 billion next month, the court has declared.

Sitting in the Magistrate Court in Milimani, Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego set October 7, 2026, as the date she will deliver the judgment after the defence’s final submissions, following the closure of the prosecution’s case, where the duo were put on the defence.

The conclusion of the matter comes after the myriad applications by the defence in the High Court and in the Magistrate Court seeking various reliefs, including recusal of the trial Magistrate and stopping the proceedings of the matter.

Finally, the High Court pronounced itself and directed the matter to proceed before the trial Magistrate, considering it had reached its tail end and the reliefs sought could have been presented earlier.

While directing how the matter would be concluded, Justice Alexander Muteti noted that the duo found having a case to answer, and Chelogoi had already tendered his defence when his lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui applied for the file to be transferred to another Magistrate, citing that the trial Magistrate had been transferred to another ELC Division.

Appearing before Justice Alexander Muteti, the DPP, through lawyers Idris Ali, Lorna Miima and Allan Mogere, in their submissions urged the Judge to dismiss the application filed by the former PC Davis Nathan Chelogoi through his lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, requesting the court to give directions that the matter pending in the lower court be transferred to another Magistrate.

“Your Honour, the matter is almost concluded, considering the applicant has already defended himself after all witnesses gave their testimonies and what was remaining is cross-examination,” Ali notified the Judge.

The former PC is charged alongside Andrew Aseli Kirungu, a senior Lands official in the Ministry of Lands, with various counts of conspiracy to defraud businessmen Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja of a parcel of land measuring 7.39 Hectares, valued at Ksh 1.35 billion, situated in Lower Kabete.

The prosecution alleged that on diverse dates between May 2020 and June 2021, Kirungu and Chelogoi, while at the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning in Nairobi, with intent to defraud, procured registration of the said land by falsely pretending the land belonged to Davis Nathan Chelogoi.

Kirungu was further charged with abuse of office contrary to section 101 of the Penal Code.

According to the Prosecution, Kirungu, on diverse dates between December 2020 and May 2021, at the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning in Nairobi, a person employed in the Public service as an Assistant Deputy Director in the Lands Administration, for gain, fraudulently made a Certificate of Title in abuse of the authority of his office, which was prejudicial to the alleged legal owners of the said land.

The court will deliver the judgment on October 7, 2026.