Former Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Davis Nathan Chelogoi was on Friday convicted in a high-profile KES 1.35 billion land fraud case.
Chelogoi was found guilty of defrauding busiinessmen Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja their 7.39-hectares of land parcel in Lower Kabete, Nairobi.
Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego convicted Chelogoi on five counts after finding that the prosecution had proved its case against him beyond reasonable doubt.
However, the court acquitted his co-accused, former Assistant Deputy Director of Lands Administration Andrew Aseri Kirungu, of the charges against him, finding that the prosecution had failed to establish his guilt to the required standard.
Chelogoi had denied charges including conspiracy to defraud, forgery and uttering forged documents, while his co-accused, former Assistant Deputy Director of Lands Administration Andrew Aseri Kirungu, faced charges including conspiracy to defraud and abuse of office.
In her judgment delivered on Friday, the magistrate said the prosecution had called 19 witnesses, mainly drawn from the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, whose evidence undermined Chelogoi's claim to the property.
“To conclusively establish the fraudulent nature of the first accused's claim, this court relies heavily on the compelling and corroborative testimony of the 19 prosecution witnesses,” Alego said.
The dispute involves businessmen Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja, who told the court that they legally purchased the property from Liney Company Limited through a sale agreement dated January 23, 2007, for KES 33 million.
The two complainants presented what the prosecution described as a continuous and verifiable history of ownership, which had previously been upheld by the Environment and Land Court in 2022 and subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
The magistrate noted that land surveyors and registry officials who testified failed to establish authentic historical survey records, deed plans or primary entry records supporting Chelogoi's competing claim before June 2021.
Chelogoi had earlier told the court in his defence that former President Daniel arap Moi allocated him the land in January 1995 for KES 2.48 million.
He argued that his demanding public service assignments as provincial commissioner delayed the regularisation of his ownership documents, which culminated in the issuance of a title deed on June 4, 2021.
However, the court found that he had failed to provide documentary evidence authenticating the alleged allocation or establishing a lawful chain of ownership.
The prosecution also presented evidence challenging documents used in processing the title.
A land registrar, Pauline Achieng, testified that signatures and stamp impressions attributed to her on documents supporting Chelogoi's claim were not authentic.
The court further heard that inconsistencies in internal tracking numbers and gaps in land registry records undermined the documentation supporting the disputed title.
His co-accused, Kirungu, in his defence, maintained that his role in processing the registration was administrative and that he had no actual knowledge of existing court decrees or competing ownership claims.
“The evidence establishes that the relevant correspondence and files inside the Ministry of Lands were either missing or destroyed,” the magistrate in her ruling observed, adding that the circumstances raised reasonable doubt about the second accused's knowledge of the competing claims.
The court consequently acquitted Kirungu while convicting Chelogoi on five counts.
The magistrate also raised concerns about alleged intimidation during the delivery of the judgment and faulted procedural delays in the case.
The case has been active since 4 July 2025, when the court ruled that he had a case to answer over fraudulent acquisition of a parcel of land valued at Sh1.35 billion.
Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego, who has since been transferred to the Employment and Labour Relations Court, ruled that Mr Chelogoi, who is jointly charged alongside assistant deputy director in the Lands Administration Office Andrew Aseri Kirungu, have a case to answer.
"Having analysed all the evidence tendered in this case, I find that the prosecution has established a case against each of the two accused persons to warrant this court place them on their defence," the magistrate ruled.
The two were subsequently charged with conspiring to defraud two businessmen of a parcel of land located at Lower Kabete valued at Sh1.35 billion.
The charge stated that they conspired to defraud Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja of the said land measuring 7.39 Hectares situated along Lower Kabete Road.
Mr Kirungu was further charged with fraudulently obtaining a Land registration number.
The charge sheet stated that they committed the offence on diverse dates between December 9, 2020 and June 4, 2021.
Mr Kirungu was also accused of causing the fraudulent registration of certificate of Title L.R. No. 18485 1.R. No.232908 in abuse of authority.
The prosecution alleged that on diverse dates between May 2020 and June 2021, Kirungu and Chelogoi while at the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning in Nairobi, with intent to defraud, they procured registration of the said land by falsely pretending the land belonged to Mr Chelogoi.
He was further charged with abuse of office contrary to section 101 of the Penal Code.
According to the Prosecution, Kirungu on diverse dates between December 2020 and May 2021 at the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning in Nairobi, being a person employed in the Public service as an Assistant Deputy Director in the Lands Administration Officer, for the purpose of gain, fraudulently made certificate of Title in abuse of the authority of his office which was prejudicial to the alleged legal owners of the said land.
The defence hearing commenced on September 22, 2025.
Mr Chelogoi has been fighting over the ownership of the land since 2009 and had lost the fight when the Environment and Land Court ruled that it was grabbed by late businessman Jacob Juma in 2008. The former PC claimed that he was allocated the land by former President Daniel Moi in 1995.
But the prosecution said investigations revealed that Mr Kirungu assisted Mr Chelogoi procure the registration fraudulently.
On May 19, 2026, the High Court affirmed that a magistrate transferred to the ELRC does not automatically lose the authority to conclude criminal matters that were already before her.
This was after Chelogoi had challenged that she lacked the mandate to oversee the matter.
Justice Alexander Muteti determined this while dismissing a challenge by the former Nairobi Provincial Commissioner, who had questioned Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego’s continued handling of his criminal case after she was transferred to the ELRC.
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