Ramji Brothers Accused of Sh350 Million Land Fraud Turn Guns on DCI Boss, DPP

Three brothers facing criminal charges over an alleged Sh350 million land fraud involving the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) have gone on the offensive, petitioning the High Court to remove the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohammed Amin from office.

In a constitutional petition filed in Nairobi, Harish Ramji Manji, Ashvin Ramji Manji and Ashvin Ramji Bharat accuse the two top law enforcement officials of gross abuse of power, violation of their fundamental rights, and defiance of binding court decisions by sanctioning their arrest and prosecution.

Through senior counsel Nelson Havi, the brothers want the court to declare Ingonga and Amin unfit to hold public office and to order them to jointly pay Sh300 million in damages for alleged violations of the Bill of Rights.

The trio also seeks far-reaching orders barring the DPP and the DCI from initiating or sustaining any criminal investigations or prosecutions arising from the acquisition and ownership of the disputed parcel of land, which they say was lawfully purchased from the NSSF.

At the centre of the dispute is land valued at about Sh350 million, which investigators allege was fraudulently acquired. However, the Ramji brothers argue that the matter has already been conclusively determined by superior courts.

According to the petition, the Court of Appeal found that the brothers are the duly registered owners of the property, having acquired it through a valid purchase and transfer for valuable consideration from the NSSF. They further state that Mombasa Cement Limited, which had challenged the ownership, sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, but its application was dismissed in September last year.

Despite those decisions, the brothers contend that the DPP and the DCI unlawfully revived the dispute through criminal proceedings, effectively reopening issues that had already been settled by the highest courts.

“It is our case that the DPP and the DCI have no authority to countermand, review or sit on appeal over decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court,” the petition reads.

They accuse the two offices of acting in bad faith and in violation of Article 10 of the Constitution, which binds all state officers to uphold the rule of law, as well as Article 244, which governs the conduct of the National Police Service.

The brothers also take issue with the manner in which the investigations were conducted, accusing DCI Amin of abusing his constitutional mandate by publishing their photographs and statements on social media identifying them as suspects in alleged land fraud.

They want the High Court to restrain the DPP and DCI from publishing or circulating any further statements linking them to criminal wrongdoing and to compel the DCI to remove their photographs from all social media platforms.

“The public shaming through publication of our images and arrest over a matter already determined by the courts amounts to a grave violation of our rights to dignity, fair administrative action and fair trial,” they argue.

The petition now sets the stage for a high-stakes constitutional battle that pits private property rights and finality of court decisions against the investigative and prosecutorial powers of the State.

The DPP and the DCI had not filed their responses to the petition by the time of publication.