A former senior detective with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Michael Mugo, has moved to court seeking orders to stop senior police officers from interfering with his land dispute in Nairobi. Mugo, who once headed the DCI’s Corporate Communication and Public Affairs unit, purchased a plot of land along Kangundo Road in 2018. However, his peaceful possession of the property has been disrupted, he claims, by the OCS of Obama Police Station, Cress Otieno, and other individuals associated with a self-help group.
Mugo, who has actively occupied the land and paid land rates to Nairobi County, started developing it in December 2024. However, his efforts were halted when Otieno, along with the third defendant Fredrick Ongondo and a group of goons, demolished a perimeter wall Mugo had constructed around the property. Mugo’s legal team asserts that the officers’ actions are unlawful, as they have not provided any valid proof of a complaint or legal basis for halting the development.
On December 24, 2024, Justice Oguttu Mboya of the Environment and Land Court issued an order to maintain the status quo, allowing Mugo to continue his occupation and use of the property. Despite the court’s orders, the harassment continued. On the same day, a deputy OCS from Obama Police Station, under Otieno’s instructions, allegedly stopped the reconstruction of the perimeter wall and expelled Mugo’s mother from the property.
Mugo has expressed fear and frustration, saying he has suffered significant financial loss due to the destruction of his property and theft of materials. He has since demanded that the senior officers cease their actions and has copied his demands to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), and the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja.
The case is set to be heard on February 2, 2025, at the Milimani Law Courts’ Environment and Land Division.
