NSSF land scandal: Rogue officials, Sh63million deal under probe

Fears are rife that rogue officials within the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), working with external accomplices, may have helped facilitate the controversial acquisition and transfer of a prime Lenana Road property in a transaction now riddled with red flags including suspicious of key suspects.

From a Sh36 million gap between the property’s valuation and purchase price to an unusually swift conveyancing process, a disputed law firm, the unexplained death of a key figure and a long-dormant fraud investigation, the trail has raised fresh questions over whether insiders at the pension fund ignored—or actively enabled—irregularities that saw millions of workers’ savings committed to the deal.

The property, originally part of the estate of the late Rosita Chettyar, was sold to Opus Investment Limited before being transferred to NSSF for Sh63 million—more than double its reported valuation of Sh26.25 million.

Particular attention has fallen on Abdul Shakoor Sheikh, who DCI records indicate left Kenya for India on April 3, 2010, and reportedly died in Dubai exactly one month later. Investigators have reportedly failed to produce a death certificate, prompting MPs to question whether the circumstances surrounding his death were properly established.

Now, the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Lands has ordered the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to conduct fresh and deeper investigations into a decades-old dispute surrounding the acquisition and transfer of prime property along Lenana Road, Nairobi, by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

The parliamentary inquiry has uncovered a series of unresolved issues surrounding the transaction, including a reported valuation disparity of more than Sh36 million, the unusually rapid movement of the property through the conveyancing process, a law firm that the Law Society of Kenya reportedly has no record of, the unexplained death of a key suspect and an investigation file that remained dormant for years.

The committee, chaired by North Mugirango Member of Parliament (MP) Joash Nyamoko, is examining the history of L.R. No. 209/324/3, which formed part of the estate of the late Rosita Chettyar before being sold to Opus Investment Limited.

The property was subsequently sold to NSSF for Sh63 million despite having been valued at Sh26.25 million, creating a difference of more than Sh36 million. MPs are seeking to establish whether the price difference and speed of the transaction point to irregularities.

Nyamoko questioned how a transaction involving valuable land could have been completed within three or four days at a time when land records were manually maintained.

“We are just looking at the timing. Something that is done within three to four days in a system which is docked with so many inefficiencies. Do you find anything strange in that? … The speed with which this was done, just like other red flags which have been pointed out, is it normal?”

The committee wants investigators to determine whether the unusually fast transaction was one of the red flags associated with the property’s transfer.

Questions over key suspect’s death

Lawmakers also questioned the circumstances surrounding Abdul Shakoor Sheikh, who is alleged to have been involved in the disputed disposal of the property.

According to DCI records presented to the committee, Sheikh left Kenya for India on April 3, 2010, and reportedly died in Dubai on May 3, exactly one month later. Investigators have reportedly been unable to produce a death certificate confirming the circumstances of his death.

Committee vice-chairperson Fatuma Jehow described the timing as suspicious.

“What a coincidence. Just a month later, same date, same year, a difference of 30 days,”

Jehow also questioned the adequacy of the DCI report.

“It’s not a very conclusive report… it worries us a lot.”

The committee was further told that Johar and Company Advocates, reportedly involved in the original transaction, has no record of having existed, according to information from the Law Society of Kenya. MPs want investigators to establish whether the legal documentation used in the transaction was genuine and identify the people behind it.

Dormant investigation file

The inquiry has also raised questions about an earlier criminal investigation.

A file submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in 2019 reportedly remained dormant for four years after investigators were directed to “await further communication”.

The DCI later told the committee that the file had been archived pending further directions from the ODPP. The latest directive requires investigators to revisit the matter and determine why the earlier probe did not result in a conclusive outcome.

Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai expressed concern over the alleged treatment of the original landowners and institutional handling of the dispute.

“It is really worrying. Someone did a deal using somebody’s land and decided to use a company that does not exist,”

Nyamai further claimed that one of the affected individuals had been warned against pursuing the matter.

“He’s an innocent person and he had been told never appear, to never ask a question,” she said.

Kipingor’s 16-day role under scrutiny

The committee has directed the DCI to investigate Caleb Koskei Kipingor, who served as a director of Opus Investments Limited for only 16 days during the period when L.R. No. 209/324/3 was acquired and transferred towards NSSF.

Investigators have also been instructed to establish the roles of advocates, officials and other individuals involved in the transactions.

The DCI must examine a 68-day period between June 8 and August 15, 1989, and obtain from the Judiciary the contents of a High Court order registered as Entry No. 21 on December 15, 1988. Investigators are to establish its connection with a subsequent conveyance to Opus Investments registered as Entry No. 27 on June 28, 1989.

NSSF says it acquired L.R. No. 209/324/3, measuring approximately 5.07 acres, together with L.R. No. 209/324/2, measuring about 1.689 acres, from Opus Investments under a sale agreement dated June 29, 1989.

The Fund paid Sh63 million for L.R. No. 209/324/3 and Sh13 million for L.R. No. 209/324/2. According to NSSF, the transactions followed an indenture between Abdul Shakoor Sheikh, acting as administrator of the estate of Sheikh Fazal Ilahi, and Opus Investments.

A conveyance for L.R. No. 209/324/3 was dated July 3, 1989, while the transfer to NSSF was completed on March 14, 1990.

NSSF intended to develop high-end residential apartments on the property. However, the proposed development was suspended by the Head of Public Service in January 1994 over issues touching on national security and a proposed government acquisition.

The Fund later sold the two parcels to the Permanent Secretary, Treasury, for Sh76 million under a sale agreement dated November 29, 2002, for use by the Ministry of Defence. The transfer was registered on September 30, 2003, after which the parcels were amalgamated and a new title issued under L.R. No. 209/16010.

NSSF maintains that L.R. No. 209/324/3 consequently ceased to exist as a separate parcel.

Decades of court battles

The dispute has generated several court cases involving Walter Joe Mburu, who pursued the claim as administrator of the estate of the late Rosita Mburu.

NSSF says Rosita Mburu’s initial case, filed in 1992, concerned tenancy rights rather than ownership. The case later abated, and the Fund evicted occupants in November 1994.

Mburu subsequently filed another suit seeking to invalidate the sale and transfer of the property from the estate of Sheikh Fazal Ilahi to Opus Investments and subsequently to NSSF.

The High Court struck out the case in 2002 after finding that it had been filed outside the statutory limitation period. An appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in December 2015.

Mburu later filed a constitutional petition challenging the transfer of the property to the Department of Defence, arguing that it had occurred despite injunctions and caveats. NSSF says the Environment and Land Court struck out the petition in October 2022, finding that it amounted to an abuse of the court process.

The Fund has also disputed allegations of wrongdoing, maintaining that it lawfully acquired and disposed of the property and that courts have already determined key aspects of the dispute.

NSSF says it cooperated with an earlier investigation initiated after the then Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission referred complaints concerning alleged fraud to the DCI. The Fund provided investigators with requested documents but says it was never informed of the outcome.

A further point of contention is a caveat lodged by Mburu, acting as administrator of Rosita Mburu’s estate, against L.R. No. 209/324/3 on January 15, 2009—years after NSSF had sold its interest to the Government.

The fresh DCI investigation will now revisit the 1989 acquisition, verify the disputed legal documentation, examine the roles of Kipingor, Sheikh, advocates and other actors, trace the property’s subsequent transfers and establish why previous investigations failed to produce a conclusive outcome.