The widow and son of Kenya’s first black Chief Justice, Kitili Mwendwa, have filed a petition in the High Court in Nairobi seeking to stop their prosecution in a Sh15 million land dispute. Wilfred Nyiva Mwendwa, a former Cabinet Minister, and her son Maluki Kitili, claim the ongoing investigations are based on false allegations made by the buyer of the land, Geoffrey Kuria. They have sued the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and Kuria in their attempt to halt any legal action.
According to court documents, the dispute stems from a piece of land sold to Kuria through Chania Enterprises Limited, a company where both Nyiva and Maluki are directors and shareholders.
The land was offered at Sh13.5 million, of which Kuria paid a Sh5 million deposit with the promise to clear the balance within 85 weeks. Nyiva and Maluki allege that Kuria requested an early transfer of the property to secure a bank loan to pay the remaining amount, which they allowed.
However, after the transfer, the buyers allegedly defaulted on payments, and a cheque issued to Maluki bounced due to insufficient funds. The applicants claim that Kuria, instead of fulfilling his end of the deal, accused them of fraud and forgery and reported the matter to the police. Maluki was arrested in March 2025 on allegations of obtaining money by false pretence. The family maintains that they provided genuine documents from the land registry and that the charges are baseless.
Maluki further claims the legal action is a strategy to coerce them and avoid payment. He told the court the charges were “pretextual” and aimed at embarrassing his 83-year-old mother and himself. Citing threats and intimidation by police officers, he asked the court to freeze any action against them until the matter is fully heard and determined. The family asserts they are law-abiding citizens and that the prosecution move is unjust and malicious.
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