By BOB WASWANI
April 23, 2026| Explosive testimony before a Kakamega court today has revealed stunning allegations that the current Shinyalu Member of Parliament, Fred Ikana, illegally purchased three acres of disputed land at an exorbitant price of 3.9 million Kenyan shillings, with funds that were allegedly diverted from classroom construction projects in a fraudulent scheme that has sent shockwaves through the constituency.
Former MP Drops Explosive Allegation
The dramatic claims emerged during ongoing malicious damage proceedings at a Kakamega magistrates’ court, where immediate former Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito stands charged alongside seven others with destroying property valued at 200,000 shillings, including two semi-permanent houses and a wooden fence, during a heated land dispute at Vikutsa village in Shinyalu, Kakamega East on January 2, 2021. Taking the stand before Senior Resident Magistrate Viennah Amboko, Kizito delivered a bombshell accusation that threatens to unravel the current MP’s conduct in office.
“Money Was Diverted from Classrooms”
According to Kizito’s sworn testimony, he had personally entered into an agreement to purchase five acres from the same family at 2.7 million shillings, believing the land legitimately belonged to them. However, he claimed to have since learned that the current MP, Fred Ikana, acting in total disregard of the CDF Act, purchased three acres from the same family at a far higher price of 3.9 million shillings. Kizito alleged that the money was directly diverted from classroom construction funds, calling the transaction fraudulent. He emphasized that the National Land Commission holds the sole mandate for purchasing land for CDF projects, not individual members of parliament.
Land Belongs to County Council, Not Any MP
If these allegations are proven true, they represent a staggering breach of public trust, with millions of shillings meant for schoolchildren allegedly funneled into a private land deal for property the MP may have no legal right to own. The court heard that the land on which Vikutsa Primary School sits, registered under parcel number 1074 Kakamega Ileho, has been registered with KNEC since 1974 and actually belongs to the Kakamega County Council. This means no individual or MP has any authority to buy or sell it whatsoever.
“I Am Surprised with the Charges Before Me” — Elderly Farmer, 81, Speaks
In a moment that brought palpable tension to the courtroom, the senior-most citizen charged alongside Kizito, 81-year-old Zachariah Amusala, a peasant farmer, took the stand and openly wondered why he was even before the court. Testifying with the weariness of a man who has seen eight decades of life, Amusala told the magistrate that on the fateful day, he had simply come to the shopping centre about 500 meters away to buy food for his workers. It was around 10:30 in the morning when he heard loud noises coming from the school. Upon arriving at the scene, he found that members of the public had unclamped a gate that had been clamped shut by the complainants. However, by the time he got there, the building was already down. He told the court he could not possibly know who had brought it down. “I am surprised with the charges before me,” the octogenarian declared, his voice trembling with bewilderment and, some in the gallery whispered, the indignity of a lifetime farmer being dragged into a political land war.
Judge Orders Site Visit Amid Tense Courtroom
In a dramatic procedural development, Magistrate Amboko granted an application by Kizito and his seven co-accused to visit the scene of the alleged destruction. The site visit has been scheduled for May 11, 2026, at 2 p.m., with the investigating officer and all parties required to be present. The magistrate acknowledged the court appreciates the physical distance between the school and the damaged homestead, a potential indication the two properties are separate and may not be part of the same land.
Kizito: “I Found Houses Already Destroyed”
Kizito, in his defense, insisted he had no involvement in the destruction. He testified that on the day in question, he was at his home in Ileho village planning the school opening when two journalists arrived reporting that Vikutsa Primary School had been shut down by a local family over a land row. He drove to the scene and found approximately seven hundred pupils and residents demonstrating, with a house and school gate already demolished. He tried to calm the crowd but failed. The houses, he said, were already destroyed.
Political Temperatures Set to Boil
With the court now preparing to visit the disputed site, and an 81-year-old peasant farmer pleading bewilderment from the dock, political temperatures in Shinyalu are expected to reach boiling point as residents demand answers about who truly owns the land, how much public money was stolen, and why an elderly man buying food for his workers now faces criminal charges.