This archive report was first published on 22 November 2019.
On November 22, 2019, Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti acquitted Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama of corruption charges related to land dealings in Nakuru.
The acquittal was based on a lack of evidence against the MP and his co-accused, as cited by the Chief Magistrate.
According to the ruling, Arama and his co-accused were to be refunded their cash bail of Ksh. 1 million, which was deposited in court.
Samuel Arama was arrested in June 2018 and held at the Railways Police Station in Nakuru before being arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ogoti in Nairobi.
The charges against Arama, which he denied in court, included abuse of office, conspiracy to defraud, making a document without authority, uttering a document with intent to deceive, obtaining registration of land by false pretenses, and knowingly misleading an investigator.
The alleged crime occurred in August 2015, and the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji had approved six charges to be preferred against Arama.
However, investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) revealed that Arama had allegedly colluded with officers from the Nakuru lands registry to unlawfully and deceitfully cause the illegal registration and issuance of a certificate of lease in relation to plot no. 6/95.
“Investigations by EACC revealed that Samuel Arama in collusion with officers from the Nakuru lands registry unlawfully and deceitfully caused illegal registration and issuance of certificate of lease in relation to plot no. 6/95 to an alleged individual who has disowned the purported sale agreement entered between Samuel Arama and the alleged individual person,” said the DPP in a statement.
