Former journalist John Mugo Njeru and his wife, Editor Irima Mugo, have denied 12 criminal charges stemming from the alleged fraudulent acquisition of a prime parcel of land valued at Ksh1.176 billion in Syokimau, Machakos County.
The couple appeared before Mavoko Resident Magistrate Faith Boit, where they pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to defraud, making false documents, obtaining land registration by false pretences, forgery and uttering forged documents.
According to the prosecution, the charges relate to Nairobi Block 165/1314, a 3.775-hectare property that investigators say belongs to Kyoga Hauliers Limited.
Court documents allege that the two unlawfully obtained registration of the land by relying on fabricated ownership records. Prosecutors claim they prepared false land documents, including a purported Grant and Deed Plan, which were then used to facilitate registration of the property.
The prosecution further alleges that several official signatures appearing on the disputed documents were forged. These include signatures purported to belong to former Commissioner of Lands Zablon Agwata Mabea, land registrars F.N. Orare and P.N. Mburu, and survey officials Ben Siro and Gitau.
In addition to the joint charges, John Mugo is separately accused of presenting forged land documents to investigators at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters on June 3, 2026, allegedly knowing they were not genuine.
Before plea-taking, defence counsel Philemon Koech asked the court to postpone the proceedings, saying the parties had initiated discussions aimed at resolving the dispute outside court.
“There are ongoing engagements between the parties, and we respectfully ask the court to allow that process to continue before plea is taken,” Koech submitted.
The application was opposed by lawyer Ken Echesa, appearing for the complainant, who maintained that no settlement negotiations had been communicated to his client.
“My instructions are that the complainant is unaware of any negotiations. We therefore urge the court to proceed with the plea,” Echesa told the magistrate.
After the plea was entered, the defence sought the couple’s release on bond, arguing that they had honoured police summons voluntarily and that their detention had left their young child without parental care.
The court declined to determine the bond application immediately and instead ordered that pre-bail reports be prepared to assess the suitability of the two accused persons for release.
The matter will be mentioned tomorrow, when the court is expected to consider the pre-bail reports before issuing directions on the bond application.
