NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 15 — Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested a suspect believed to be part of a cartel orchestrating land fraud in Nairobi.
The suspect, identified as Brian Otiende Anyanga, is accused of masterminding the issuance of counterfeit lease certificates to unsuspecting landowners and developers while impersonating an official from the Nairobi County Lands Registry.
Anyanga’s arrest follows the earlier apprehension of his alleged accomplice, Lawrence Martins Ochieng, who was taken into custody two weeks ago in connection with a separate land fraud case.
According to detectives, Anyanga’s gang attempted to defraud a victim of two prime parcels of land in Nairobi’s Pumwani area by issuing fake certificates of lease.
“Although the fraud was intercepted, the victim lost over Sh553,000 to the machinations,” the DCI stated on Saturday.
After learning of Ochieng’s arrest by the DCI’s Operations Support Unit on December 2, Anyanga reportedly went into hiding along Katulo Road in Buruburu. However, detectives tracked him down and arrested him.
Authorities also revealed that Anyanga is facing charges in an ongoing gold scam case and is currently out on bond.
The DCI disclosed that a cache of suspicious land documents recovered during the investigation is under scrutiny. Detectives aim to determine whether officials at the Lands Registry have been colluding with the suspects to facilitate fraudulent activities.
Anyanga is scheduled to be arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts on Monday as investigations into the fraud continue.
