Controversial businessman Kamlesh Pattni is sucked in an intricate land fraud case pitting him and family of freedom fighter the late Fred Kubai, The Informer can reveal.
In a damning petition received by the National Assembly Clerk late last month, Kubai family accuses Pattni of fraudulently dispossessing them the land occupying International Casino on Museum Hill Nairobi associated to the tycoon.
Kubai family has laid claim of the land since 1967 until 2008 when the lease of the property was irregularly transferred to Galaxy Walker Limited, a firm linked to Pattni and Ketan Somaia.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations headed by Ndegwa Muhoro and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions boss Keriako Tobiko are working jointly with United Kingdom Central Authority on mutual legal assistance and understanding to assist obtain evidence on how Somaia was able to transfer Kubai’s shares to Pattni’s entity without their consent.
“Kindly the family of the late Fred Kubai, would like to petition the Parliamentary Committee on Land to help recover a prime property on Museum Hill. The family has held the lease of the property since 1967 to 2008 when the lease was transferred to Galaxy Walker Limited associated with Kamlesh Pattni.” The petition reads in part.
Kubai family own the land through their company Tourist Paradise Limited incorporated in 1967. “We did establish that the companies associated to Kamlesh Pattni did not have the documents to support the transfers which are receipts of stamp duty, approval for change of user and consent to transfer to claim to be bona fide owners of the property.” The petition drawn by Andrew Kubai, son to the late freedom fighter says.
The appeal addressed to Lands Committee chairman Alex Mwiru was received on March 23, 2017 at the National Assembly main records unit. The disputed land is LR number 209/7437 measuring 1.587 hectares. Investigations by The Informer established four years ago, Kubai family petitioned the National Land Commission (NLC) chairman Muhammad Swazuri through the Commission on Administrative Justice, Office of the Ombudsman for determination of the legitimate owner vide a letter reference number Our Ref:CAJ/P.E/040/170/2013/VOL.1/RS.
Andrew Kubai forwarded the complaint to Ombudsman office on May 31, 2013 seeking intervention in a land dispute. “The commission is of the view that the National Land Commission is bet suited to inquire into this matter and hereby, forward the complaint and supporting documentation for your further necessary action.” Former CAJ chairman Otiende Amollo told Swazuri through a correspondence dated July 16, 2013.
Pattni and Somaia were featured in the Goldenberg scandal in Kenya during the 1990s. Somaia has since been convicted by a UK court over 19.5million US Dollars fraud. The Goldenberg scam centred around a company called Goldenberg International which claimed to be selling Kenyan gold and diamonds to companies abroad. To encourage exports the government at the time paid Goldenberg bonuses for foreign sales.
