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President’s kin loses bid to remove name from TJRC land report


A kin of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s on  Thursday lost a bid to have his name removed from a 2013 report on illegal land acquisition.

High Court judge Weldon Korir dismissed a case in which Mr Ngengi Muigai wanted his name expunged from the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission’s (TJRC) report on illegal land acquisition.

Justice Korir ruled that the TJRC report is a public document which has to remain as it is therefore he could not issue an order or directive to expunge Mr Muigai’s name as per his request in the suit.

The judge pointed out that nothing had happened ever since the report was published two years ago and that if the recommendations in it are to be implemented, Mr Muigai would be accorded an opportunity to defend himself.

He also said that removing his name would not be in the interest of the public.

“The report shall remain intact, mutilation of the report as proposed by Mr Muigai would not be in good interest of the public. The recommendations of the report have not been implemented however when that time comes, he can defend himself before the relevant body,” Mr Korir said.

While upholding the Commission’s defense, the judge also said that there was no evidence that Mr Muigai questioned findings of the report hence granting the orders sought would mean to quash it yet it is a public document.

APPLICATION DISMISSED

“Mr Muigai had a strong case to warrant the orders but since there was no evidence submitted questioning the report which remains a public document, I can only dismiss the application,” he ruled.

Muigai had sued TJRC, the Inspector General of Police, CID Director and the Attorney General, following allegations in the report that the late President Jomo Kenyatta gave him a grabbed parcel of land unlawfully as a wedding gift.

Mr Muigai who is the President’s nephew wanted the court to compel TJRC to produce evidence that he was given the disputed land.

He had challenged allegations that he irregularly acquired land in Karura forest in 1997 and argued that TJRC acted without jurisdiction in coming up with findings that are prejudicial to him without granting him an opportunity to be heard.

Through lawyer Jennifer Shamalla, he wanted the court to compel TJRC to provide evidence to prove its allegations that Jomo Kenyatta grabbed public land and dished it out to relatives.

But TJRC had told the court that the orders sought to expunge the name could not be allowed because the report had not been implemented yet by the National Land Commission (NLC). Ms Beth Mugo has also filed a similar suit separately.