Kenyan detectives have arrested three members of a prominent business family accused of forging documents to steal prime land worth KSh350 million belonging to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) in Athi River, Machakos County.
Harish Ramji, Ashvin Ramji and Bharat Ramji were picked up on Thursday by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) following a four-month probe triggered by a formal complaint from NSSF on 2 September.
The fund told police it had discovered a title deed in the suspects’ names for a 3.043-hectare parcel it has owned for decades.
Investigators established that on 27 May 2010 the trio, together with accomplices still at large, allegedly created a fraudulent transfer instrument bearing counterfeit signatures of the NSSF Board of Trustees. The forged paperwork was then used to register the land in their names, effectively transferring ownership of the public asset.
After reviewing the evidence, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions authorised charges including conspiracy to defraud, uttering false documents, obtaining registration by false pretences and forgery. The suspects are being held at the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road and are expected to appear in court on Monday.
The case is the latest in a string of scandals involving public land, with pension funds and parastatals frequently targeted by well-connected fraudsters using insider access and forged paperwork. NSSF, which manages retirement savings for more than three million Kenyans, has in recent years lost several high-value properties to similar schemes.
Detectives say the hunt continues for additional suspects believed to have facilitated the fraudulent transfer at the lands registry.
(298 words)
