Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire is once again under fire after the High Court dismissed her latest attempt to silence the Nation Media Group (NMG) over stories linking her to high-profile land grabbing scandals.
The ruling delivered on June 26, 2025, in Mbarire v Nation Media Group Plc [2025] KEHC 9239 (KLR), crushed her hopes of forcing the press to retract damning evidence.
Mbarire’s name has consistently appeared in disputed land dealings, including the controversial Ksh2 billion Loresho property row and disputes in Embu County. Despite her denials, her legal losses show a clear pattern — the courts refuse to whitewash her record.
Cecily Mbarire Land Scandals and Failed Court Gag
Governor Mbarire’s battle with NMG has become the centerpiece of her fight to cleanse her image. In March 2024, the Sunday Nation ran the explosive front-page story “Two Governors Caught Up in Sh2bn Land Row”, directly naming Mbarire and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja in connection to an 18-acre Loresho property.
The property, already locked in a 16-year legal battle, was surrounded by multiple competing titles, some allegedly fraudulent. By linking Mbarire, the paper exposed how political networks often meddle in land ownership disputes.
Mbarire reacted furiously. She claimed she was not a beneficiary of the deal and only called former Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir on behalf of one party. She demanded a retraction and an apology. When the Nation refused, she sued for defamation, accusing the publication of portraying her as “fraudulent, dishonest, and ravenous for land.”
But the High Court at Milimani (Civil Case E093 of 2024) dismissed her petition. Justice JN Mulwa found no justification for gagging the media or striking the story. This outcome reaffirmed that the press has the right to report on matters of public interest, especially when powerful figures appear in questionable land disputes.
Clash with Governor Sakaja over Loresho Land
Mbarire’s inclusion in the Loresho saga inevitably tied her to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja. Both governors publicly distanced themselves from the scandal. But behind the denials, insiders suggested the land was a political chessboard involving top county bosses, businessmen, and former provincial commissioners.
For Mbarire, this clash deepened suspicions. Her rivals seized the moment, painting her not as a neutral mediator, but as an active player in Nairobi’s messy land market. By rushing to court to muzzle the media, she only added fuel to the perception that she had something to hide.
Other Land Controversies in Embu
Beyond Nairobi, Mbarire’s name also surfaces in Embu land disputes. One of the most sensitive is the Mwea Settlement Scheme, a sprawling 44,000-acre zone claimed by the Mbeere community through the Ngome Council of Elders. Instead of resolving tensions, Mbarire asked the national government and Interior Cabinet Secretary to step in, raising questions about whether she was unwilling to tackle entrenched interests.
She has also been accused of double-speak. While publicly vowing to repossess county land grabbed in places like Runyenjes, critics argue she is more concerned with maintaining political optics than dealing with deep-rooted corruption networks tied to land allocation.
These disputes leave many Embu residents asking whether Mbarire is truly fighting land cartels — or protecting her allies.
Pattern of Using Courts to Silence the Press
Mbarire’s legal crusade against NMG is part of a broader trend. Politicians and prominent lawyers have often tried to use courts to silence investigative reporting.
Former Attorney General Prof. Githu Muigai once sued NMG but lost when the court ruled he failed to prove his claims. Lawyer Danstan Omari succeeded in 2023, winning KSh 9 million after the Daily Nation called him one of the worst communicators of 2021. Senator Erick Okong’o Mogeni and Lady Justice Jacqueline Mogeni also won damages after NMG linked them to influence-peddling.
But in Mbarire’s case, the judiciary refused to bend. By dismissing her case, the High Court reaffirmed that she cannot rewrite her legacy through legal intimidation. Her repeated failures in court are proof that evidence of her involvement in land scandals is too strong to erase.
Why Mbarire Remains a Bonafide Land Grabber
The High Court’s June 2025 decision is not just another legal loss for a politician. It is a decisive rejection of a governor trying to weaponize the judiciary to bury her scandals.
Mbarire has been linked to prime land disputes in Nairobi and Embu. She has attempted to cover her tracks with court actions. She has denied and deflected. Yet each time, the evidence has pointed back to her.
Her legacy is not one of a reformer, but of a leader entangled in Kenya’s most toxic political economy — land grabbing. For Embu residents and Kenyans at large, the message is clear. Courts will not cleanse her record, and the media will not be silenced.
