Kimunya, co-accused acquitted in Sh60m land case

Former minister Amos Kimunya at Milimani anti-corruption court, Nairobi on May 6, 2026/LEAH MUKANGAI

A Nairobi court has acquitted former Lands minister Amos Kimunya and his co-accused in a Sh60 million graft case over the alleged irregular allocation of public land to Midlands Limited.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Magistrate Harrison Barasa found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt against all the accused persons.

Kimunya, who was the first accused, had faced charges of abuse of office and fraudulent disposal of public property.

Prosecutors alleged that in June 2005, while serving as Lands minister, he used his position to confer a benefit to Midlands Limited by facilitating the allocation of a 25-acre parcel excised from land belonging to the Njabini Farmers Training Centre.

The land was valued at approximately Sh60 million.

However, in his determination, the court held that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence to establish that Kimunya fraudulently disposed of the land or improperly influenced its allocation.

While it was not disputed that Kimunya was a shareholder and director of Midlands Limited, the court found no proof linking him to the issuance of the letter of offer for the land.

“The prosecution has not satisfied this court as to the guilt of the first accused in the three counts,” the magistrate ruled.

The court noted that the letter of offer was signed by the second accused, former Director of Land Adjudication and Settlement Lilian Wangari Njenga, who did not indicate that she had been influenced by Kimunya or that she acted at his direction.

Kimunya, in his sworn defence, denied issuing any instructions regarding the allocation, and the court said there was no reason to doubt his testimony.

Magistrate Barasa further observed that suspicion by investigators, without corroborating evidence, could not form the basis for a criminal conviction.

"There is no evidence that the first accused wrote any instructions to the second accused regarding the issuance of the letter of offer,” the magistrate said.

He added that the burden of proof lay squarely with the prosecution, which called 17 witnesses in an attempt to establish the case.

On the role of the second accused, the court examined whether she breached trust or abused her office by issuing the letter of offer.

Njenga told the court that her role was limited to processing applications and that allocation decisions were subject to procedures involving the Settlement Fund Trustees.

She maintained that she would not have signed any documents had she found them to be irregular or unlawful.

Similarly, the third and fourth accused persons, including a director of Midlands Limited and the company itself, were cleared of charges of fraudulent acquisition of public property.

The court found no proof that they unlawfully acquired the land.

The magistrate also remarked that evidence presented suggested Midlands Limited had been established as a public-oriented initiative aimed at benefiting farmers, and the court formed the impression that the company “was born out of a noble idea.”

The magistrate declined to rely on statements that were not subjected to full scrutiny in court, noting that any outstanding disputes over the land could be more appropriately addressed through civil proceedings.

The acquittal marks the end of a case that had initially resulted in Kimunya’s acquittal before the High Court ordered a retrial.