The recent decision by Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga to drop the Sh300 million land fraud case against businessman Abdorahman Huchamsa exposes serious problems in Kenya’s justice system.
On August 10, 2025, a magistrate allowed the withdrawal of criminal charges against Huchamsa, who was accused of forging documents to steal valuable land in Nairobi.
Ingonga personally applied to pull the case, saying it should be dealt with as a civil matter, not a criminal one. This move raises serious questions about whether justice is being served or if powerful people are being protected.
The land in question covers four plots totaling 1.6 hectares in Kya-Ng’ombe, Embakasi, Nairobi County. These plots legally belonged to Pansiba Limited, a company that had owned them since 2017. The fraud was discovered in 2021 when Prime Bank tried to auction two of the plots to recover a loan but found that Huchamsa had forged certificates of title dating back to 2006 to claim ownership. Pansiba’s director, Parminder Singh Sethi, reported the case with strong evidence, including witness statements and ownership documents.
The trial had started in May 2024 with Huchamsa denying the charges while out on bail. Then suddenly, Ingonga decided to drop the criminal case and push it to civil court.
This pattern of dropping important cases is not new for Ingonga. He has a record of withdrawing high-profile corruption cases involving large sums of money or influential people. Just last year, he tried to withdraw a Sh7.6 billion fuel corruption case and an Sh8.5 billion graft case involving a former Tourism Cabinet Secretary. Both moves sparked public outrage and criticism from anti-corruption leaders.
Exposed documents have revealed that Ingonga’s office silently stopped many such cases, often citing lack of evidence after pushing the cases forward initially.
The consequences of such actions are serious. Land fraud in Kenya causes huge losses and fuels inequality. By letting this case go, Ingonga is sending a message that forged documents and theft of land may be overlooked.
Pansiba Limited is appealing to the High Court, insisting that forgery and theft are criminal acts and should not be reduced to civil disputes where offenders can easily escape serious punishment.
Their lawyer has argued that the evidence was strong enough for conviction and that Ingonga’s withdrawal of the case only deepens suspicions.
Critics like Francis Gaitho, a vocal activist and commentator, have accused Ingonga of running the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as a corrupt fiefdom. Gaitho says Ingonga’s team is behind wrongful arrests, fake charges against bloggers and dissenters, and even abuses leading to deaths, including that of blogger Albert Ojwang.
Gaitho himself has been targeted, with his passport and devices seized in what he calls legal oppression. He describes Ingonga as the most corrupt DPP Kenya has ever seen, turning the justice system into a tool for protecting the corrupt.
This situation shakes public confidence in the law. When cases are dropped without good reason, victims lose faith, businesses hesitate to invest, and corruption spreads.
