Firms fails to table sale papers in Sh1bn Magugu land fight

Nation Media Group

Political Reporter

A firm claiming to have acquired a prime parcel of land from the family of former Cabinet minister Arthur Magugu failed to present the purported sale agreement, deepening the mystery over the ownership of the asset valued at more than Sh1 billion.

Suresh Shah, a director of Karura Investments, and Suleiman Harunani, a shareholder, told the parliamentary Land Committee that the firm purchased the land legally but could not present the transaction documents.

“The sale agreement was signed but Karura Investments Limited does not have a copy. The process of the sale was made in a hurry. Either the late Magugu may have remained with it or our lawyer then, who has since closed his firm and is an aged man of over 90 years may have misplaced it,” he said.

The revelations come barely 14 days after Land Cabinet secretary Farida Karoney asked Parliament to grant her two more weeks to summon the parties to provide documents to back the alleged transfer of part of the prime Nairobi property to Karura Investments Limited.

“We do not have documentation relating to the transfer of L.R No. 12422/319 from Arthur Kinyanjui Magugu to Karura Investments Limited,” she said.

An acre of land in Muthaiga is worth more than Sh100 million.

Ms Karoney appeared before the Land Committee to respond to a petition filed by Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny on behalf of the estate of the late MP.

The estate of Mr Magugu has petitioned Parliament regarding fraudulent subdivision of land registered as L.R12422/9.

The original land in question measuring about 100 acres in Muthaiga, L.R No.12422/9, was initially registered in the name of the late Magugu in 1982.

It was later subdivided into two portions giving rise to L.R No. 12422/203 and L.R No. 12422/204, both registered in the name of the former Githunguri MP. The L.R No. 12422/204 was subsequently sub-divided into two portions giving rise to L.R No. 12422/318 registered in the name of Magugu and L.R No. 12422/319 registered in the name of Karura Investments Limited.