A woman accused of taking part in the illegal transfer and sale of land belonging to a deceased estate has been arrested after detectives linked her to a parcel in Juja Farm that was allegedly sold for Sh800,000 without the knowledge of the family.
Agnes Wairimu Gachanja was arrested by detectives from the Land Fraud Investigations Unit (LFIU) on Wednesday, August 19, in Ruiru, where she had gone to attend a defence hearing in another land fraud case being investigated by the same unit.
Her arrest followed investigations into a separate complaint filed by two administrators of their late father’s estate. Their father died in 2008, and the administrators discovered the alleged irregular transfer while carrying out an official search at the Thika Land Registry during the succession process.
Investigators established that a parcel measuring about 0.0825 hectares in Juja Farm had been transferred to an unidentified person without the knowledge or consent of the estate administrators.
The LFIU later found that the land had been sold for Sh800,000 after the disputed transfer.
As investigations progressed, a duplicate police case file was prepared and forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for review.
The ODPP backed the investigating officer’s recommendation that Gachanja face three charges: conspiracy to defraud, uttering false documents and intermeddling with the property of a deceased person.
After being processed by detectives, the suspect was scheduled to appear before the Ruiru Law Courts on Thursday, August 20, where she is expected to answer to the charges.
The case comes amid continued investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) into suspected land fraud involving property left behind by deceased persons.
The DCI said it remained committed to pursuing individuals suspected of “unlawfully seizing, transferring, or disposing of properties belonging to deceased estates”.
The agency also urged members of the public to report cases of land fraud and other crimes through its anonymous reporting channels.
Gachanja remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, with the prosecution required to present evidence to support the charges against her.