The High Court has delivered judgement in a long-standing case concerning a cemetery fraud scheme orchestrated by the defunct Nairobi City Council back in 2008.
The case involved city lawyer Alphonce Munene Mutinda, who stood accused of forging a letter to facilitate the illegal sale of land.
According to a statement issued on Thursday, March 21, by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Mutinda has been directed by the court to reimburse a sum of Ksh25.9 million, which he received from the fraudulent scheme.
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Justice Esther Maina issued the directive for Mutinda to repay the ill-gotten gains and additionally cover the costs incurred by the commission in pursuing the legal action.
Maina said that Mutinda must also pay interest on the misappropriated amount dating back to 2009, calculated at court rates.
"The High Court has ordered Nairobi Lawyer Alphonce Munene Mutinda, one of the brains behind the Kes.283 million Nairobi City Council cemetery scandal to pay back Kes. 25.9 million that he received from the fraudulent transaction. Delivering the 6th judgment in the 9 recovery suits filed by EACC, Justice Esther Maina also ordered Mutinda to pay costs of the suit to EACC and interest on the amount from the date he received it in 2009, at court rates," EACC stated.
HIGH COURT ORDERS NAIROBI LAWYER BEHIND THE KES.283M CEMETERY SCANDAL TO PAY BACK KES. 25.9M
The High Court has ordered Nairobi Lawyer Alphonce Munene Mutinda, one of the brains behind the Kes.283 million Nairobi City Council cemetery scandal to pay back Kes. 25.9 million that…— EACC (@EACCKenya) March 21, 2024
Cemetery scandal
During the hearing, EACC revealed that the contested land did not rightfully belong to a private company also implicated in the scandal.
According to the EACC, it emerged that a prominent city firm, Alphonce Mutinda Advocates, had engaged in forgery by fabricating a letter purportedly authorizing the company's involvement in the tender process on behalf of the registered landowner, Henry Kilonzo.
Details of the scheme unveiled a sequence of events where Kilonzo purportedly agreed to purchase a property from Naen Rech Ltd for Ksh110 million on December 19, 2008.
On the very same day, the Nairobi City Council proceeded to acquire the parcel of land from Kilonzo at Ksh283 million.
Investigations revealed that Mutinda's law firm orchestrated the deception by falsely representing Kilonzo as the rightful landowner and Naen Rech as his authorized agent in the tender process for cemetery land provision.
