How Detectives Tracked and Arrested Businessman Benick Otieno in Sh200m Karen Land Scam

Detectives have arrested Nairobi businessman Benick Otieno Okombo after linking him to an elaborate scheme to fraudulently seize a Sh200 million parcel of land in Karen using forged documents.

The operation was led by officers from the DCI Land Fraud Investigations Unit after a woman reported that the land she had bought was being claimed by a stranger. She told detectives she had purchased the property from its rightful owner, who had since died. That owner had inherited the land from her mother.

Her complaint triggered a quiet but thorough investigation. Detectives dug through records and soon discovered that Okombo had allegedly introduced fake documents into the land’s ownership history. They say he forged a deed of gift and a transfer form that suggested the deceased owner had personally handed the Karen property to him.

The documents were presented as genuine, but investigators say the signatures were fraudulent and the paperwork had no legal basis. Once they compiled their evidence, detectives forwarded the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Prosecutors reviewed it and approved charges of forgery and uttering false documents.

With the green light to arrest him, detectives launched a manhunt. Using forensic leads, they traced Okombo to Bruce House in Nairobi’s CBD, where they moved in and arrested him. He was taken to DCI headquarters for processing and is expected to be arraigned.

The Karen property sits in one of Nairobi’s most expensive zones, where land deals are routinely targeted by fraudsters. Investigators say the case reflects a growing trend in which criminals forge inheritance documents or create false transfers to take over high-value plots.

DCI has warned that such cases will be pursued aggressively, saying the arrest should serve as a reminder to anyone attempting to benefit from fraudulent land transactions. Buyers have also been urged to conduct strict due diligence, especially on inherited or transferred land, as fraudsters continue to exploit gaps in records and succession processes.

The probe into the Karen land is now complete, and detectives say they are confident the evidence will hold in court.