• Nathaniel Kipkemboi Barmasai was arrested on Sunday in Eldoret and brought to Nairobi.
• This follows ongoing investigations into the disputed one-acre prime parcel of land located along School Lane in Westlands, Nairobi.
Image: WINNIE WANJIKU
One of the directors of a company listed as the one claiming ownership of a house that was demolished in Westlands, Nairobi has been arrested.
Nathaniel Kipkemboi Barmasai was arrested on Sunday in Eldoret and brought to Nairobi.
Police said they plan to charge him, among others, with malicious damage to property.
The team investigating the matter was also looking for three other people listed as directors of a company claiming the property.
Lariak Properties was registered in 2002 and has four directors including Barmasai, Samuel K. Chepkwony, John Kamaiyoa Rotich and Joel Kiplangat.
They have been summoned for grilling and possible prosecution by the Land Fraud Unit at DCI headquarters.
This follows ongoing investigations into the disputed one-acre prime parcel of land located along School Lane in Westlands, Nairobi.
According to Niraj Shah and his wife Avani Shah, they are the legal occupants since their lease to the land, which was allegedly bought by a private company in 2010 expires in 2048.
The couple has condemned the demolition of their Sh80 million worth property by a mob allegedly deployed by the private developer.
They said the investor in question demolished the house without following police protocol.
According to Avani, auctioneer Zachary Baraza showed her a document purporting that a private company named 'Lariak Properties' had bought the land from Metro pharmaceuticals in 2010.
Baraza was arrested and presented in court before being released on a cash bail of Sh200,000.
Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe said Baraza of Siuma Auctioneers should be reporting to the investigating officers whenever he is summoned to do so.
The cash bail will be relinquished once a formal charge has been filed against him.
Baraza told the press that he was just following a court order presented to him.
Baraza was arrested following complaints raised by the Asian family for violently evicting them from their home in Westlands.
The complainant Niraj Shah said that Baraza led 25 people to their family home in Westlands and destroyed establishments in the said area.
The DCI wanted Baraza detained for 14 days on grounds that they are yet to recover the household goods and other personal effects of the complainant, which were allegedly taken by the goons led by Baraza.
“Preliminary investigations have revealed that those household goods and personal effects may have been sold on the instructions of Baraza. That is why his assistance is essential towards their recovery,” an affidavit by Sergeant Eric Onyango read.