Nakuru MP Samuel Arama locked out of August polls over corruption
The outgoing Nakuru Town West Member of Parliament Samuel Otara Arama will not contest the August 9, 2022 General Elections over integrity issues.
The fate of Mr Arama was sealed on Thursday following last week’s judgement by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) dispute resolution agency that he could not be cleared to vie for the parliamentary seat due to corruption.
“We uphold the decision of the returning officer Nakuru Town West for declining to clear/register Samuel Otara Arama to vie for the seat over integrity issues. He was found guilty of fraudulently acquiring a parcel of land within Nakuru municipality. As a consequence Arama stands locked out of the August polls over corruption. We cannot fault the returning officer for declining to register Arama. He acted within the law,” the dispute resolution agency ruled.
Mr Arama, three Nakuru-based land registrars and a lawyer, Kennedy Begi Onkoba, who carried out the conveyancing of the fraudulent sale of Ahmed Muhammud Nisar land, were convicted and sentenced by the anti-corruption court (ACC) magistrate Victor Wakumile.
The registrars are John Muiru Mwaura, Daniel Kimoru Nyantika and Charles Onyambu Birundu.
They were convicted for 12 counts of abuse of office and irregular transfer of land without the knowledge and consent of the owner between 2012 and 2016. All the five were convicted for conspiracy to defraud Mr Nisar his parcel of land.
The registrars had fraudulently transferred the said land to a Mr Yusuf Mustafa Ratemo who later purported to sell it to Arama at a cost of Sh60 million.
“All the accused persons did not directly benefit from the transaction and the subject title was returned to the complainant,” Wakumile said while passing the sentence.
State prosecutor Joseph Irungu had urged the magistrate to be guided by the sentencing policy guidelines developed by the judiciary in meting out the sentence. Mr Irungu asked the court to take judicial notice that the three land registrars and the conveyancing officer of the flawed land transaction are all lawyers while Mr Arama is a lawmaker.
In mitigations through defence lawyer Dr Ken Nyaundi the convicts pleaded for non-custodial sentence saying they are remorseful.
“I have considered the mitigation. Guided by the sentencing policy guidelines I take into account the property in question was restored and therefore never benefited,” Wakumile noted
Mr Arama and the other co-accused persons were all fined Sh260,000 for each count.
rmunguti@ke.nationmedia.com