Gachanja, ex-KAA boss Lagat cleared of fraud

Former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja and former Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Managing  Director Peter Lagat have been cleared of fraud charges.

Mr Gachanja and Mr Lagat had been charged together with former President Moi’s aide Joshua Kulei and former Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Managing Director Ezekiel Komen, in connection to a joint venture that saw taxpayers lose more than Sh100 million.

But Mr Gachanja and Mr Lagat were freed, thanks to a decision of the National Land Commission (NLC) validating their actions in a case involving KAA land.

DEFRAUD

While discharging them of charges of conspiracy to defraud, chief magistrate Felix Kombo said NLC”s decision, validating Mr Lagat’s action rendered the charges against him, Mr Gachanja and Gas Company Ltd (GCL), defective.

“It follows in my view therefore, that the gazette notice has impacted on an essential ingredient in each of the three charges and rendered them, in the present state, defective in their substance. As things stand, the three charges do not disclose the intended offence. With the changed factual basis, their trial has been rendered a futile and impractical pursuit,” the magistrate ruled.

But the court said that the charges against Mr Kulei, Mr Komen and three other companies will proceed from next month.

IRREGULARLY

The allegations are that Mr Komen, and others irregularly committed KPC to enter into a joint contract with GCL and formed a Liquified Petroleum Gas company known as East African Gas Company Limited (EAGCL). They were first charged in court ten years ago.

In the venture, 12 parcels of land valued at Sh92.5 million belonging to KAA at the Moi International Airport, were alienated and irregularly allocated to private developers.

The parties have been negotiating over a settlement for the past two years and KPC, which was one of the complainants and GCL paid Sh75 million to Treasury as part of the deal to drop the charges.

In the negotiations, GCL agreed to refund Sh65.2 million plus the additional Sh10 million to cater for lost opportunity as part of the deal.

APPROPRIATED

KPC thereafter wrote a letter on February 16, 2017 indicating that the company had fully withdrawn from the joint venture and has no further interest in or claim against GCL.

While the case was pending, NLC adjudicated on the legality of the parcels and found that the titles were regularly allocated. It was then that Mr Lagat and Komen argued to be discharged because the charges against them no longer stood.

NLC said it held public hearings in Mombasa to confirm whether the grants and titles of the land in question was legally appropriated.

The commission was of the view that where the initial allottee of public land has transferred  to a bonafide purchaser for value without notice of defect in the title, the Registrar does not have the jurisdiction to revoke such a title.

DISMISSED

Although the prosecution maintained that the charges were still valid, because the decision of NLC has been challenged, Mr Kombo discharged the three.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission had also dismissed the negotiations saying they were not party to such.

In the 1998 joint venture, KPC’s Board resolved that approval be given to KPC management to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with GCL to establish a joint venture company for import, storage and distribution of LPG.

KPC and GCL, agreed to co-operate by way of creating a joint venture in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of facilities for receiving, storing and delivery of LPG in Kenya.

SH5 MILLION

GCL and KPC were each registered as beneficial holders of 55 per cent and 45 per cent ordinary issued up shares of the company respectively.

Sian Enterprises Ltd and Ashar Ltd associated with Mr Kulei were allegedly paid Sh5,999,890 and Sh12 million respectively from the joint venture.

The prosecution alleges that the companies were paid without providing any services.