Members of Parliament have called for National Lands Commission (NLC) Chair Muhammad Swazuri to be investigated, and possibly prosecuted, for his role in the Sh1.5 Billion Ruaraka land scandal.
A report adopted by the National Assembly Lands Committee directed Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) chief George Kinoti to open investigations into Swazuri and other officials with a view to prosecuting those involved in the alleged loss of public funds.
The commitee noted that the NLC failed to involve Ruaraka High School and Drive In Primary School which sit on the 13.7-acre piece of land in any form of public participation.
Furthermore, they called on Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to prosecute any public officials found to have engaged in corrupt dealings on the matter.
On Tuesday, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) handed over a file to the DPP with the names of 24 people including government officials they want prosecuted over the scandal.
[caption caption="Muhammad Swazuri"]
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Reports indicate that Francis Mburu, the director of Afrison Export Import Ltd and Huelands Ltd which has been at the centre of the dispute sought anticipatory bail on Tuesday.
In an appearance before parliament 2 weeks ago, Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney shifted the blame on the matter to former Education CS Fred Matiang'i and Swazuri.
She faulted their decision to authorize a payment as compensation for the schools on the land.
Karoney asserted that the allotment letter given to the school 34 years ago was irregular.
Additionally, former Attorney-General Githu Muigai is on the spot for his advice to the Ministry of Education that failed to take into account the long-running disputes on the land.
“We note that both Ruaraka High School and Drive-In Estate School are public schools. Accordingly, it is our legal advisory that the constitutional requirement of both public purpose and interest as a factor in compulsory acquisition of private land is fulfilled,” he wrote in a letter dated June 7, 2017.
[caption caption="Lands CS Farida Karoney"]
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