• Witness says documents between landowner and complainant were forged.
• Complainant took deceased's British-born lawyer to court saying he wanted to transfer the land to himself.
Image: COLLINS KWEYU
A witness has accused businesswoman Agnes Kagure of lying to the court that she is the owner of disputed land in Karen, Nairobi.
Brigitte Patel Kosgey told Justice John Onyiego that the will of the original owner of the land — Rogers Bryan Robson who died in 2012 — called for his nephew from the United Kingdom to take over the property and turn it into a park for children.
Kosgey was testifying on Thursday in a case in which Britain-born lawyer Guy Spencer Elm has been accused of forging Robson's ' (his client's) will.
She said Robson' signature in a conveyance and other documents between him (Robson) and Kagure dated November 2011 was forged.
"Having spent a considerable amount of time with Rogers, I can confidently state that he would not have sold No 95 Ushirika Road for any amount. So when I see someone say the property is theirs, it is not true," Kosgey said.
Kagure has been laying claim to the land. She alleges to have bought the disputed land from Robson for Sh100 million in 2011 and later accused Spencer of planning to transfer the property to himself and dispose of it.
Owner wanted to convert his living area into a church and the rest of the property into a park where children could play.Witness Brigitte Kosgey
But according to the witness, Robson had his will safely stored by his lawyer Spencer with directions to leave his assets to his nephew and to charity.
Kosgey dealt with Robson while she was working at Old Mutual as the personal assistant to the Group CEO between 2009 and 2012. She told Justice Onyiego that Robson's househelp, Jack Mulinge, visited their offices in November 2009 to recover proceeds from a policy that had matured.
Since Mulinge did not come with any documents, the witness had to frequently visit Robson at his home which led to their being closely acquainted.
"The late Rogers was a very lonely and depressed man. He only lived with his househelp Mulinge. He was not married. He said he never found any suitable partner," the witness said.
But Robson, she said, was very passionate about the environment. Kosgey said that at some point, he wanted to convert his living area into a church and the rest of the property into a park where children could play.
Rogers died in August 2012 and the power of attorney had been given to Spencer in 2010.
"In particular, I recall that Rogers even stated that his wish was to live long enough to see that his property was utilised in a manner that would befit efforts of the late Professor Wangari Mathai in promoting the environment," Kosgey said.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)