The court has acquitted former Lands minister Amos Kimunya and his co-accused of the Sh60 million Nyandarua land graft case, linked to the alleged irregular allocation of public land to Midlands Limited.
The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Kimunya had faced charges of abuse of office, breach of trust, and fraudulent disposal of public property.
Prosecutors alleged that in June 2005, while serving as Lands minister, Kimunya used his position to benefit Midlands Limited. They claimed that he facilitated the allocation of a 25-acre land valued at Sh60 million.
The prosecution had also claimed that Amos Kimunya was a director at shareholder at Midlands Limited.
However, the court found that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Kimunya fraudulently disposed of the land or improperly influenced its allocation.
While it was undisputed that Kimunya was a shareholder and director of Midlands Limited, the court held that there was no proof linking him to the issuance of the letter of offer.
“The prosecution has not satisfied this court as to the guilt of the first accused in the three counts,” ruled Barasa.
The court noted that the letter of offer was signed by the second accused. She is the former Director of Land Adjudication and Settlement Lilian Wangari Njenga. Wangari did not indicate that she had been influenced by Kimunya or acted on his instructions.
In his defence, Kimunya denied issuing any directions regarding the allocation. Barasa emphasized that suspicion alone, without corroborating evidence, could not sustain a criminal conviction.
“There is no evidence that the first accused wrote any instructions to the second accused regarding the issuance of the letter of offer,” he said, adding that the burden of proof rested squarely with the prosecution, which called 17 witnesses.
The court also found that there was no evidence to prove that Wangari had abused office. Even though she signed the offer letter to Midlands Limited.
The others accused was businessman Junghae Wainaina, who is linked to Midlands Limited. Him and Midlands Limited, were also cleared of charges of fraudulent acquisition of public property. The court found no evidence of unlawful acquisition.
The magistrate further observed that Midlands Limited appeared to have been established as a public-oriented initiative aimed at benefiting farmers.
Barasa also indicated that any remaining disputes over the land would be more appropriately resolved through civil proceedings.
The acquittal marks the conclusion of a case that had initially resulted in Kimunya’s acquittal before.
The case dates back to March 2014 when Kimunya was first put on trial. However, in May 2020 he was acquitted together with the co-accused.
In a different turn of events, the case was re-opened in October 2022 after the High Court overturned the acquittal. This was after a re-trial appeal by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Featured image: Amos Kimunya on Facebook
