Nairobi — Digital Strategist Dennis Itumbi has written to the Offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) seeking prosecution of former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi over the Ruaraka land saga.
Itumbi through his lawyer Waithera Kinuthia has given the two agencies seven days to act with the ODPP required to set up a motion to initiate Matiangi’s prosecution and the EACC to issue a status progress report on the case file.
Itumbi insists that Matiangi who was then serving as the Education Cabinet Secretary should account for the loss of the land which he estimated to be Sh1.5 billion.
“The Constitution provides for national values and principles of governance which include the rule of law among other principles and all state organs should adhere,” Itumbi said.
The saga mentioned Matiangi among the government officials involved.
The Ruaraka land saga involves the alleged irregular acquisition of public land in Ruaraka, Nairobi by a private developer, Afrison Import Export Limited.
Initial reports indicated that someone grabbed the land in question from the State, initially for two public schools, Ruaraka High School and Drive-In Primary school.
Itumbi in 2020 petitioned the two agencies to conduct a probe on the issue but to date, he decries that there has not been any progress.
“It is unfortunate that my client was willing to use his private resources and conduct a private prosecution against Matiangi to ensure restitution of stolen taxpayers’ money,” lawyer Kinuthia said.
The Ministry of Education in 2018 sought to recover the land and recommended that the National Land Commission (NLC) revoke the title deed issued to Afrison Import Export Limited.
In June however 2019, the NLC subsequently ruled that the government should compensate the developer for the land, arguing that the land was legally acquired.
The decision by the Commission sparked public outrage with many questioning the legitimacy of the ruling.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
