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Former Lands Minister Amos Kimunya will be back in court today as a case in which he's to be charged afresh for land fraud begins.

Kimunya had initially been accused of fraudulently transferring 25 acres of land belonging to the government to a private company when he served as the minister for Lands and Housing.

He was charged with abuse of office and conflict of interest among other charges, over the transfer of the land in Njabini, Nyandarua County, which had been set aside for the Ministry of Agriculture for seed multiplication. The land also acted as a training Centre for farmers.

Kimunya was charged alongside former director of Land Adjudication and Settlement at the Ministry Lilian Njenga and Junghae Wainaina, an official of Midlands Ltd.

They were however acquitted by anti-corruption chief magistrate Felix Kombo in 2020 after his court ruled that the prosecution failed to call a crucial witness in the trial.

That acquittal was challenged in the High Court.

“The court is satisfied that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the accused persons,” Justice Esther Maina said when she directed that Kimunya and his co-accused be put on their defence.

The former National Assembly Majority leader and his co-accused will face six counts of abuse of office, conflict of interest and fraud among others when they appear before senior principal magistrate Peter Ooko in Nairobi.

Elsewhere, a case in which the state wants Embakasi North MP James Gakuya charged with land fraud is also set for directions today.

Gakuya is accused of defrauding a businesswoman of some 0.2 acres in Runda, Nairobi.