William Abira Kebaki v Edward Obino Kenyariri & another [1998] KECA 166 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that an agricultural land sale becomes void if land control board consent isn't sought within six months, no matter what the contract says.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Effect of failure to obtain land control board consent within six months where the sale agreement itself postponed the application for consent
The transaction became void for all purposes upon expiry of six months from the making of the agreement; the parties' own agreement to seek consent after final payment could not save it.
Section 8(1) of the Land Control Act requires an application for consent to be made to the appropriate land control board within six months of the making of the agreement. By stipulating that consent would be sought only after the final instalment of the purchase price was paid - a period spread over two years - the parties contracted themselves out of the statutory window. Without evidence of consent, section 6 rendered the transaction void, and the High Court's finding to that effect was correct.
Legal principles established
#- An agreement for a controlled transaction in agricultural land that is not presented for land control board consent within six months of its making becomes void for all purposes under the Land Control Act, and parties cannot by their own contract extend that period.
Court orders
#- 1.Appeal dismissed
- 2.No order as to costs (save for Akiwumi, J.A.'s order on costs)
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Kisii
- H.C.C.C. No. 31 of 1981
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal to the Court of Appeal under the applicable appellate statute (not expressly stated in the judgment text provided)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "William Abira Kebaki v Edward Obino Kenyariri & another [1998] KECA 166 (KLR)", Case Analysis (1998). Civil Appeal No. 25 of 1997. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/1998/166/eng@1998-11-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.