A Machakos land buyer lost Sh2.4 million after a suspected fraudster allegedly posed as the owner of a prime parcel of land along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway using forged identity documents and a fake title deed.
Detectives based in Kalama Sub-County have arrested the suspect, identified as David Maitha, who allegedly operated for months using the stolen identity of Joel Musembi Kiilu.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Maitha allegedly presented himself to the buyer as the legitimate owner of the lucrative parcel of land.
To support his claim, the suspect allegedly produced a forged title deed and a fake National Identity Card bearing the name Joel Musembi Kiilu.
The buyer, seeking to verify the transaction, conducted an official search at the Machakos Land Registry.
The search reportedly showed that the property was registered in the name of Joel Musembi Kiilu, giving the buyer confidence that he was dealing with the genuine landowner.
However, investigators later established that the person behind the transaction was allegedly using another person’s identity.
Convinced that the documents and land records were genuine, the buyer entered into a sale agreement before a lawyer in Machakos.
He subsequently paid Sh2.4 million for the property.
The situation changed shortly after the payment was made.
The alleged vendor stopped responding to phone calls and failed to honour scheduled meetings as the buyer sought to proceed with the post-sale procedures.
The suspect eventually became unreachable, prompting the buyer to report the matter to the police.
Detectives from Kalama Sub-County launched investigations into the complaint and established that the person who had received the money was allegedly David Maitha.
Investigators determined that Maitha had allegedly assumed the identity of Joel Musembi Kiilu to facilitate the fraudulent land transaction.
Following an intelligence-led operation, detectives traced and arrested Maitha in Mtito Andei.
He was taken into custody and is undergoing processing pending arraignment in court.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) cautions members of the public to exercise utmost due diligence when undertaking land transactions. Beyond verifying the authenticity of documents at land registries, buyers must verify the true identity of the individuals behind those documents,” DCI said.
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