Mysterious Somali tycoon behind children’s home land grab attempt in Pangani
Fresh details have now emerged that little known city tycoon of Somali origin masterminded the demolition and arson attack into a property hosting destitute children in Pangani, Nairobi, owned Kenya Evangelical Lutheran church, The Informer can authoritatively reveal.
A lobby group alleging foul play into the investigations by exonerating the principal suspect who was the key architect into the attack now wants a parallel probe into the matter be initiated by the Land Fraud Unit detectives at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters and the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU).
The man whose identity investigators are yet to make public is suspected of orchestrating a ploy to seize the multi-million property.
According to impeccable sources privy to the investigations who spoke to us on condition of anonymity told The Informer that the businessman in question is in constant communication with at least three senior officers at the Starehe Sub-County Command.
Last week, eleven men hired to evict destitute children from a disputed property were charged with arson and causing malicious damage to property worth Sh19.2 million after allegedly causing fire during a commotion at the facility.
They were however freed on a cash bail of Sh20, 000 each after denying the charges before Principal Magistrate Jackie Kibosia at Makadara Law Courts.
The hearing of the case is slated for December 14. They are accused of committing the offences on October 22.
Their lawyer Robert Asembo told the court that they had been hired by a private developer who was at large and had no idea that the property had a pre-existing dispute.
Asembo had sought a deferral of plea taking, claiming an engineer who hired them and who has gone into hiding should be sought and charged instead and the 11 suspects be turned to prosecution witnesses against him.
They are Moses Omondi Oluoch, Musa Karioki Burundi, Alex Machuki Morara, Michael Omondi, Halkano Mohamed and Peter Nyamato.
Others are Joshua Nyambengera, Francis Mburu, Wilberforce Oyamo, Patrick Kandivila and Evans Magata.
They are accused of wilfully and unlawfully damaging a building containing fixtures and household properties valued at Sh19, 218,855 property of Kenya Evangelical Lutheran church.
The suspects are also charged with setting property ablaze after allegedly starting a fire during the commotion that ensued as they forcibly evicted the children from the property.
“The accused persons are not the targeted arsonists. They are casual workers hired by an engineer for the work. To avoid a miscarriage of justice, we urge they be treated as witnesses. They did not know anything about the pre-existing dispute over the property and the engineer should be held responsible,” Asembo said.
The eleven were hired to forcibly kick out the occupants of the property where the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church runs a children’s home. Asembo said they were paid Sh1000 each for the work.
The church said through a lawyer that property was looted and some individuals were injured and police are pursuing theft and assault charges against some of the suspects and their accomplices at large.
