Court orders former PS and co-accused to defend Sh283m Mavoko cemetery land case
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A Nairobi anti-corruption court has ruled that the prosecution established a case against a former permanent secretary and other accused over the irregular acquisition of land meant for a cemetery in Machakos County.
A former permanent secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Local Government and other accused in the Sh283.2 million Mavoko cemetery land case have been placed on their defence after the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court ruled that the prosecution had established a case against them.
Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore delivered the ruling on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in Anti-Corruption Case No. 19 of 2010, and set the defence hearing for January 25 to 29, 2027, according to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The case centres on the alleged irregular acquisition of land intended for cemetery use in Mavoko, with the property valued at Ksh283.2 million.
The charges include conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, fraudulent acquisition of public property, fraudulent disposal of public property and fraudulent practices in procurement proceedings. The case was filed in 2010 and has moved through the courts for more than a decade before reaching the defence stage.
The ruling comes amid a run of land-related prosecutions in Kenya. Recent cases include a suspect in Trans Nzoia accused of attempting to sell a non-existent 30-acre parcel and charges linked to land valued at Ksh100 million in Mombasa.
Land intended for public amenities has been a recurring source of dispute in the Nairobi metropolitan area, where cemetery land in particular has been the subject of inquiry and litigation over pricing and ownership.