A Nairobi court has acquitted former Lands minister Amos Kimunya and his co-accused in a Ksh60 million corruption case linked to the alleged irregular allocation of public land to Midlands Limited.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, May 6, Magistrate Harrison Barasa said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The case revolved around claims that Kimunya abused his office in the 2005 allocation of a 25-acre parcel excised from the Njabini Farmers Training Centre land.
Nairobi Court acquits Amos Kimunya in Ksh60 million land allocation case. Photo: Courtesy.
Prosecutors alleged the property was unlawfully allocated to Midlands Limited.
However, the court found no evidence connecting Kimunya to the issuance of the letter of offer or demonstrating that he influenced the allocation process.
The magistrate noted that the letter was signed by former Director of Land Adjudication and Settlement Lilian Wangari Njenga, with no indication that she acted under Kimunya’s direction.
Barasa further ruled that suspicion alone could not sustain a criminal conviction, reiterating that the prosecution bore the responsibility of proving its case with sufficient evidence.
The acquittal comes just a week after the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court cleared former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of a money laundering charge while ordering him to defend himself in a separate corruption case.
In a ruling delivered on April 30, Magistrate Isabella Barasa found that prosecutors had presented enough evidence on four graft-related charges linked to a 2018 Nairobi County tender awarded to Yiro Enterprises.
According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Sonko allegedly received Ksh8.4 million through multiple bank accounts connected to the deal.
The prosecution said the accused conspired in December 2018 in a scheme involving suspected proceeds of crime worth Ksh14.1 million.
The court directed Sonko and his co-accused to enter their defence, with the case set for mention on June 4 ahead of the defence hearing.
