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DPP seeks title deed in Moi land case


A court has been asked to compel four traders to prove that they own a property that former President Moi allegedly sold to a company.

Mr Simon Kiprono Laboso, Mr Mohammed Nur, Mr Macdonald Lijoodi Makaka and Mr Mohammed Hassan are accused of forging a title deed for the property that Mr Moi is accused of selling to Tulip Properties at a Sh25 million in 1996.

The four have denied the forgery claim, but the DPP wants them to be forced to produce evidence they have for ownership of the property.

Mr Tobiko has further requested the court to compel Mr Laboso to be a state witness against the other three accused persons.

However, defence lawyers urged the court to reject the DPP’s request, which they said would be unconstitutional and a breach of the accused persons’ rights if granted.

The lawyers also urged presiding magistrate to strike out a notice by the DPP requiring the four traders to provide him with original title documents of the land which is in Embakasi, Nairobi.

They further asked the court to expunge from its records a bundle of 120 documents filed by the DPP’s office.

The defence team argued that the Constitution requires the prosecution to provide accused persons with evidence it intends to rely on to enable them prepare their defences.

The defence also argued that no one should be compelled to give incriminating evidence against oneself.

The lawyers said the DPP failed to supply the four traders with all the evidence he intended to rely on.

“The DPP sent to us 120 documents which we have not read and requires us to furnish him with their originals otherwise he has threatened to use photocopies,” Mr Kamau Karori, one of the defence lawyers submitted.

He said the a director of Tulip, Mr Jaswin Singh Rai, had admitted that he did not have documents to prove ownership of the property which the four say they were allocated in 1988.

The court will deliver a ruling on May 29.