Nairobi: Wanted Land Grabbers Arrested After Visiting DCI Headquarters To Bribe Sleuths

• Two serial land grabbers have been arrested at the DCI headquarters while allegedly trying to bribe the investigation officers
• Jackson Mwangi and Elijah Macharia have been on record of allegedly acquiring parcels of land in the suburbs of Nairobi city
• The two were released on KSh 200,000 cash bail to allow officers to arrange their files as they compile the alleged charges pressed against them

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has nabbed two alleged land fraudsters in their attempt to dupe sleuths at the DCI Mazingira Complex premises.

Why did Jackson go to DCI offices?

Jackson Mwangi Wambui, a suspected land fraudster targeting occupants in the leafy suburbs of Nairobi, was arrested along with Elijah Macharia while trying to stop a case in which they were accused of attempting to grab a 0.2026-hectare parcel of land in the Thome V area.

According to DCI, the duo showed up at the Land Fraud Investigations Unit (LFIU) offices seeking a two-month delay in the ongoing investigations, a period he suspected would be enough to allow him to obtain "fake original" documentation of the land.

"In the daring bribery attempt to the country's highest criminal investigations agency, all Jackson Mwangi sought from the investigator was a two-month delay in the ongoing investigations, within which he would have obtained a "fake original" documentation of the land. Unbeknownst to the suspects, their names have for years been on the Unit's radar of the most notorious land fraudsters in the country," read a statement from DCI.

Jackson's case made DCI take notice

Jackson allegedly and illegally obtained a parcel of land behind the Roasters Hotel.

However, he vanished when asked to produce proof of ownership of the land. The gang was expelled from the land in December 2022 after being caught erecting a perimeter wall under his supervision.

According to the investigating team, the land rightfully belonged to a deceased Kenyan, whose wife and two children were threatened by Jackson's gang after reporting the matter at Kasarani Police Station.

How did they attempt bribing the sleuths?

Recently, Jackson's team requested to sit with the investigating officer, who, upon suspecting that they were up to no good, asked them to meet him at his office within DCI headquarters, to which they agreed.

After heeding the promise, the suspects pleaded with the officers to go slow on the case until March 2024, when they would have acquired the fake documents.

"Once in the office, they pleaded with him to halt the investigation process as they had found a way of acquiring fake documents, but they needed January and February to wind up the process. "You can then take us to court any time in March. We will know how to handle it there,'' they said.

For the favour, Macharia placed KSh 200,000 on the table as a tip to the officer, all this time unaware that the office they had been ushered into had mounted cameras that recorded all the ongoings. DCI Operations detectives moved in and whisked them away with the exhibits for processing and arraignment," said the detectives.

The two suspects were then taken to Kiambu and released on KSh 200,000 cash bail.

Mavoko MP denies land grabbing allegations

In October of this year, Mavoko MP Patrick Makau dismissed allegations that he was among the parties that sold the Portland Cement land in the Athi River.

He claimed that his name was being tarnished for demanding justice for locals whose houses had been demolished.

“You may tarnish my name, you already crucifying me, but I will stand with the people of Mavoko. You don’t publish my name when I do well, but you are now tarnishing my name,” Makau said.