Former Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Davis Nathan Chelogoi has been convicted of fraudulently acquiring a Sh1.35 billion parcel of land in Lower Kabete, Nairobi.
In a detailed judgment rendered by Milimani Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego on Friday, Chelogoi was found guilty on five counts, including conspiracy to defraud, forcible detainer, forgery and uttering false documents, in a case involving a 7.39-hectare property claimed by two businessmen, Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja
“The court finds that David Nathan Chelogoi is found guilty and convicted on Count 1, Count 2, Count 3, Count 4 and Count 5,” the magistrate ruled.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego found that documents used to support former PC Chelogoi’s title to the disputed property were forged, including a land registrar’s signature and stamp.
“The signature and stamp impressions were outright forgery,” Magistrate Alego said.
The magistrate ordered Chelogoi to be remanded in custody pending mitigation and sentencing on November 2, 2026.
She further directed the Chief Land Registrar to cancel parallel title deeds and registration details issued over the disputed property.
However, the court acquitted Chelogoi’s co-accused, former Assistant Deputy Director of Lands Administration Andrew Aseri Kirungu, after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish his criminal culpability.
“The evidence against him is insufficient to warrant a conviction,” Alego ruled, extending the benefit of doubt to Kirungu.
The two are charged over the alleged fraudulent acquisition and registration of a land parcel LR No. 18485, measuring approximately 7.39 hectares along Lower Kabete Road and valued at Sh1.35 billion.
The prosecution alleges that between May 2020 and June 2021, the two conspired to defraud businessmen Ashok and Raja of the property by allegedly procuring its registration in Chelogoi’s name.
During the hearing, the complainants, Ashok and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja, told the court they purchased the property from Lima Company Limited through a sale agreement dated January 25, 2007, for Sh32 million.
They presented a chain of ownership documents, which the court found were supported by a previous Environment and Land Court judgment delivered on July 28, 2022, affirming their ownership.
The prosecution called 19 witnesses, including land registrars, officials from the State Department of Lands, surveyors and forensic document examiners, to demonstrate how the disputed title was allegedly obtained.
A land registrar, Paulina Achieng Pesa, testified that her signature and stamp appearing on documents used to support Chelogoi’s title were forged.
She denied signing or stamping any documents authorising the transfer or registration of the property in Chelogoi’s name.
The court also heard that a registry file relied upon to support the disputed registration did not correspond to the property in question but belonged to a separate parcel.
In his defence, Chelogoi maintained that he had been allocated the land in January 1995 by former President Daniel arap Moi and paid a premium of Sh2.48 million.
He told the court that his public service assignments and financial limitations delayed the regularisation of his documents until June 2021. He also challenged the forensic examination of the documents, arguing that the original records had not been analysed.
However, the magistrate found that he had failed to provide sufficient authenticated documentation to displace the complainants’ established ownership.
The judgment also addressed repeated applications that had delayed the trial, with the magistrate expressing concern over what she described as intimidation.
“If courts were to run by intimidation, would we have a judicial system?” she posed.
The magistrate said she had received letters from Chelogoi addressed to her personally, including copies sent to her employer.
“It is quite unfortunate that it has taken a whole year to reach this judgment,” she said, adding that the matter had been delayed by repeated applications.
The court ordered the Chief Land Registrar to cancel any parallel title deeds or registration details issued over the property, affirming the ownership established in the earlier land proceedings.
The judgment in the case was rendered after Justice Alexander Muteti of the Milimani High Court on Thursday dismissed Chelogoi’s revision application, declining to transfer his case to another magistrate or halt proceedings in the criminal case pending before the Nairobi Chief Magistrate’s Court.
“The application is dismissed. The matter in the lower court shall proceed to its logical conclusion,” Justice Muteti ruled.
Justice Muteti held that Chelogoi had failed to prosecute his recusal application against Magistrate Alego as directed by the High Court and could not use the revision proceedings to delay the conclusion of the trial.
The court is expected to determine his sentence after mitigation next month.
