DCI moves to block release of title deeds in alleged land fraud case involving KCB official's sister

The DCI has moved to the High Court to block the release of title deeds and electronic devices linked to an ongoing alleged land forgery investigation. [iStockphoto]

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has moved to the High Court to block the release of title deeds and electronic devices at the centre of investigations involving Judy Koech-Oyamo, sister of late KCB executive Rosemary Chemutai Koech.

The DCI wants orders issued by a Milimani magistrate directing it to surrender the exhibits suspended and eventually overturned, warning that releasing them could jeopardise ongoing investigations into alleged forgery, conspiracy to defraud and related land fraud offences against Judy and co-suspects.

Judy, a Ministry of Lands official, is the first respondent in a criminal revision case filed by the DCI at the High Court in Nairobi alongside 16 other respondents, including individuals, the National Transport and Safety Authority, Safaricom PLC and Airtel Kenya Limited.

The individuals named alongside Judy are Ministry of Lands officials, namely Paul Kibisu, Francis Mwangi, Gaylene Mwirichia, Evans Kathuri, Joseph Kager, Robinson Mbatha, Joel Kakuli, John Mutisya, Beatrice Wanjiku, John Mburu, Anthony Ndegwa, Peninah Mwangi and Dan Akama.

The DCI has named 14 individuals as respondents in the case, linking them to different stages of an alleged scheme involving the preparation, alteration, registration and use of fraudulent land documents at the Ministry of Lands, Ardhi House.

The investigating agency says it is probing Judy and 13 others over an alleged land-fraud network involving Ministry of Lands officials, land brokers and other persons accused of manipulating government records to facilitate the alleged illegal acquisition of private and public property.

The DCI is challenging orders issued on June 24, 2026, by Milimani Chief Magistrate Rose Ndombi directing the release of recovered certificates of title, electronic gadgets including phones and laptops, and other exhibits recovered from the residences and offices of the respondents.

According to the DCI, the items were recovered under search warrants issued by the court during investigations into serious offences including conspiracy to defraud, forgery and related land fraud offences.

“The DCI herein has collected criminal intelligence which has been analysed and identified Judy and 13 others as persons of interest, being persons allegedly involved in the forgery of land registration documents, which were backdated to the times and era of their service in the Ministry of Lands, for use in defrauding public institutions and private landowners of legitimate ownership of parcels of land,” the DCI states in its court papers.

The DCI alleges that once fraudulent documents were prepared, Mwangi was allegedly used as an accomplice to remove legitimate documents from government land files and replace them with forged or fraudulently prepared documents.

“Once the fraudulent documents are prepared, some of the Respondents herein use their accomplices such as Mwangi herein to remove the legitimate documents and replace them with the forged or fraudulently made documents to form part of the contents of the correspondence and parcel files held by the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning,” the DCI alleges.

The agency identifies Kibisu in connection with the alleged use of the disputed documents in civil litigation.

According to the DCI, forged or fraudulently made documents were allegedly presented in court proceedings to pursue claims over land and facilitate what investigators describe as the defrauding, disinheritance or acquisition of property from legitimate owners.

“The said forged or fraudulently made documents are then allegedly used in civil litigations by Advocates who include Kibisu, to pursue legal redress in Court to occasion further defrauding, disinheriting and/or acquisition of parcels of land from the legitimate owners through vigorous legal processes which the majority of the genuine owners cannot afford by way of property legal representation,” the agency states.

Mwirichia is among the former Lands officials named by the DCI as a person of interest in the wider alleged manipulation of land-registration documents.

The agency alleges that the respondents worked with other unidentified persons to forge official stamps and signatures belonging to State Department of Lands and Physical Planning officials, particularly those of retired or deceased officers.

The DCI specifically links Kathuri to the alleged registration of fraudulent documents in official land records.

Investigators allege that some respondents used land registrars, including Kathuri, to actualise the registration of forged documents in the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning records.

The investigators claim they were denied an opportunity to oppose the application seeking the release of the items recovered during the arrest of the suspects before the magistrate’s court, which resulted in the release orders.

The DCI says that although it was listed as a respondent, it was never served with the application, supporting affidavit, certificate of urgency or hearing notice.

Instead, the agency says the documents were served only on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions despite the orders ultimately being directed at the DCI.

“The learned Magistrate consequently heard and determined the application without affording the Directorate of Criminal Investigations an opportunity to be heard,” the agency states.

The investigators have now asked the High Court to call for the lower court record and examine whether the June 24 orders were legally and procedurally proper.

They want the orders reviewed, vacated or set aside to prevent the release of the exhibits.

At the heart of the DCI’s application are certificates of title which investigators say require further scrutiny.

The agency says preliminary forensic investigations conducted by the DCI, alongside independent verification by the Office of the Chief Land Registrar, uncovered serious irregularities affecting the certificates of title.

The DCI says the investigation file had already been forwarded to the ODPP for legal advice and prosecutorial directions when Judy filed her application seeking release of the exhibits.

It argues that the certificates, electronic devices and other items remain crucial evidence and should be preserved until investigations and any subsequent prosecution are concluded.

The agency has warned that unless the High Court intervenes, the respondents could move to enforce the magistrate’s orders through contempt proceedings, potentially interfering with the investigations.

“The Applicant (DCI) stands to suffer irreparable damage and prejudice if the orders sought are not granted,” State Counsel Martin Munene says in the certificate of urgency.

The DCI has also asked the High Court to consider the evidential value of the recovered items and the public interest in preserving exhibits that could be required in criminal proceedings.

The case is pending hearing and directions.