Rongai Member of Parliament Raymond Moi’s bid to claim a 0.4 hectare parcel of land suffered a blow on Monday after the evidence produced in court revealed huge discrepancies.
As he testified in court, the lawmaker could not explain the anomalies in the contents of the allotment letter and the title deed in regard to the land in Eldama Ravine Township, Baringo County, which he is laying claim to.
NON-EXISTENT
Lawyer Ogolla Okeke, who is representing a defendant in the case, dismissed Mr Moi’s testimony saying he had no accurate information regarding the land he claims to own.
For instance, the MP failed to explain before the court why the company Hamco Limited, under which the land is registered and for which he is the director, was incorporated in 1992 while the allotment letter was issued in 1990.
“The allotment letter was issued two years before the company was incorporated. Does this mean that the land was given to an inexistent company?” Mr Okeke asked the MP
The lawyer also questioned why the land documents indicated different sizes of the land. The allotment letter indicates it is 0.421 hectares while the title document shows it is 0.370 hectares.
DISCREPANCIES
Mr Moi also had difficulty explaining other discrepancies on the two documents such as why the annual land rates on the allotment letter was Sh2,600 while on the title document it was Sh2,200.
“It is true that there are anomalies on the document which is not a surprise. I however cannot explain why,” he said.
The case was filed in 2009 by the MP who accused Mr Jackson Ruto, a private developer, of encroaching and trespassing on the land.
Appearing before Justice Sila Munyao, the lawmaker said he owns the land.
EVICT
He claimed that Mr Ruto had illegally developed a school on the land after fraudulently acquiring it and he wanted court orders to evict him.
But due to the discrepancies in the two documents, questions arose on whether the two documents were for the same parcel of land.
Justice Munyao directed the officer in charge of the Lands registry in Koibatek sub-County to prepare a report on the land to be presented in court within 20 days.
The case will be mentioned on October 20.
