A businessman alleged to have demolished a Sh55 million house owned an elderly couple in Westlands, Nairobi, will be charged on Friday.

Francis Nyaga Njeru appeared in court Wednesday and was released on cash bail of Sh300,000 so could appear before the National Land Commission to defend his ownership of the property, which he allegedly pulled down on Sunday.

Prosecutor Lindsy Mugambi sought to have Mr Njeru detained for seven days to allow land fraud investigators to conclude their investigations into the dispute.

Senior Resident Magistrate Hellen Onkwani, however, declined to order the detention, directing police to finalise investigations within two days.

“This matter is of great public interest as an elderly couple has been exposed and allegedly deprived of its legally acquired property,” Ms Onkwani ruled.

The prosecutor had earlier told the court that the suspect demolished the house, where an elderly couple had lived for 40 years.

“The property worth Sh55 million, which was pulled down last Sunday, has been the home of Mr Nazmudin Kurji, 73 and his wife, Parin Kurji, 70, for 40 years,” Ms Mugambi stated.

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/