Former National Land Commission (NLC) Chairman Mohammed Abdalla Swazuri and 16 co-accused persons have been acquitted in a KES 221 million graft case linked to compensation for land acquired by Kenya Railways, bringing to an end a long-running prosecution that started in 2018.

The 17 were charged in 2018 and 2019 with charges of conspiracy to defraud, abuse of office, and money laundering linked to alleged irregular compensation payments tied to the acquisition of Kenya Railways piece of land.

In its ruling, the magistrate’s court found that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

“The court observed that none of the charges brought against the accused persons had been sufficiently established,” the ruling states in part, adding that key elements of the alleged conspiracy were not proven.

The magistrate further held that the dispute largely arose from an administrative process rather than criminal conduct, and found no evidence that the compensation paid was unlawful.

On the issue of criminal liability, the court noted that public officials cannot be held culpable for actions undertaken on the basis of existing land titles unless there is clear evidence of fraud or criminal intent, which was not presented in this particular case.

The court also found that the prosecution failed to prove that the land in question was public land, with witness testimony indicating it bore characteristics of private or township land.

Additionally, while title deeds existed, the court noted that the prosecution did not demonstrate that they had been lawfully cancelled or invalidated, leaving their legality intact in law.

Further, the prosecution did not establish that the land was unavailable for allocation, relying instead on suspicion rather than concrete evidence.

The acquittal brings to a close a case that has been in court for nearly seven years, with all the accused persons walking free.

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