Suspects In Sh1.7B NHIF Land Fraud Linked To Senior State Officials

Two suspects involved in the forgery and grabbing a Sh1.7 billion land belonging to the NHIF are linked to senior government officials who’re now being said to be the real owners of the said property.

Frederick Kimani and Peter Leparakwo were on May 15th charged with conspiring to defraud the National Hospital National Insurance Fund (NHIF) Sh1.5 billion land in Nairobi.

Sources privy to the matter now say the two are just proxies of senior government officials at a financial regulatory agency. They say detectives are on the trail and it’s only a matter of time before they’re outed. DCI boss Amin Mohammed dated on January 27, 2023 requested ODPP to peruse the file afresh.

Initially, it was Businessman Jimi Wanjigi who was charged for the land grab before DPP Haji dropped and withdrew the charges.

Despite the evidence available from the Ministry of Lands, Government Printer, and the Registrar of Companies, the then DCI boss Kinoti still recommended that Wanjigi be charged in court.

Kinoti had also, in his investigation report, said that the Karen land belonged to Peter Leparkwo and not the NHIF.

But an independent probe had established that Leparkwo and his accomplice had actually forged a title deed and altered computer data.

Kimani and Leparakwo are also accused of forging the Certificate of Title Land and altering computer data with the intent for it to be considered and acted upon for legal purposes.

The prosecution said the property which is located in Karen Plains measures 9.250 hectares belongs to National Hospital Insurance Fund.

Leparakwo was also charged with destroying evidence on dates between June 28, 2021, and December 6, 2021, at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

According to the charge sheet, he willfully destroyed the Certificate of the Title Land with an intent to prevent it from being used as evidence in a judicial proceeding.

Leparakwo is also accused of forcibly holding possession of the said land.

According to the charge sheet, he held possession of the said land in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace against NHIF which is entitled by law to possess the said land.

His co-accused Kimani is accused of impersonation.
According to the charge sheet, he falsely represented himself as a Director of Cirtex Kenya Limited.

He also faced another charge of forging a KRA Pin certificate with the intent to defraud NHIF on the said parcel of land.

The two were also accused of giving false information to a police officer that they were the rightful owners of the said land.

They were also accused of procuring the registration of the said parcel of land by falsely pretending that they were directors of Cirtex Kenya Limited.
The subject property according to the prosecution measures 9.250 hectares.

The accused through their lawyers Philip Nyachoti and Onwong’a Orenge told the court that they had been charged with offences that had not been properly investigated as one of the accused persons, Leparakwo had previously been charged with similar offences last year but the DPP withdrew the charges.

“The 2nd accused was charged with the same offence in 2022 and was released on 300k bond,. The matter later was withdrawn by the court and now he is being charged with the same matter, and the bond is not yet returned,” his lawyer told the court.

Lawyer Orenge pleaded with the court to consider the age of Leparakwo as he was an elderly man who has been in possession of the said land for over 40 years.