Three brothers have moved to the High Court seeking Ksh 600 million in damages after a criminal case linked to a long-running land dispute collapsed.
Bharat Ramji, Harish Ramji and Ashvin Ramji are suing the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, saying their arrest and prosecution were unlawful and unfair.
The case centres on a 3.043-hectare parcel of land in Mavoko Municipality valued at about Ksh 350 million and linked to the National Social Security Fund.
According to the brothers, the land dispute had already been fully settled through the civil court system before criminal charges were brought against them.
They argue that reopening the matter through police action caused them serious harm.
In their petition filed at the Milimani Law Courts, the brothers say they were exposed to public embarrassment, damage to their reputation and financial loss.
They claim this happened because authorities attempted to revive a dispute that had already been concluded by higher courts.
They insist that once the civil process ended, there was no legal basis for turning the matter into a criminal case.
The land dispute dates back more than ten years and involved the Ramji family, Mombasa Cement Limited and NSSF.
The land, known as LR No. 11895/50, became the subject of a heated ownership contest.
In 2019, the Environment and Land Court ruled against the Ramji brothers. They later appealed the decision.In December 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned the earlier ruling and upheld the brothers’ ownership of the land.
The court found that the property had been lawfully purchased and transferred to them by NSSF. This decision marked a major turning point in the dispute.
Efforts by Mombasa Cement to take the matter to the Supreme Court were unsuccessful, effectively bringing the civil case to an end.
Despite this, the brothers say trouble resurfaced in late 2025 when DCI officers arrested them. They were charged before the Chief Magistrate’s Court with alleged forgery of transfer documents connected to the same land.
The brothers argue that these charges were brought long after the civil dispute had been fully resolved.
Their lawyers immediately objected to the criminal case. They pointed to a Court of Appeal order issued in September 2024 that barred any arrest, investigation or prosecution related to the land while appeals were pending.
The defence argued that ignoring this order went against clear court directions.
The magistrate’s court later agreed with the defence. It ruled that the charge sheet was defective and declared the case a nullity.
The court noted that allowing the prosecution to continue would create a risk of conflicting decisions over a matter that had already been settled by higher courts.
Following this decision, the brothers filed a constitutional petition. They argue that the criminal case was an improper attempt to reopen a closed civil dispute.
They say the investigations and arrests violated their rights to property, dignity, fair administrative action and a fair hearing.
They are now asking the High Court to stop any future investigations or prosecutions linked to the Mavoko land.
They also want their photographs and arrest notices removed from official records, social media and mainstream media. In addition, they are seeking Ksh 600 million in compensation for reputational damage, business disruption and emotional distress.
The case now moves to the constitutional court, where judges will consider whether the criminal process was used in a way that went against settled court decisions and whether the brothers deserve protection and compensation after years of legal battles.
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