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ELCPartially AllowedNotice of motion dated 16th December 2013 (judicial review)· [2016] KEELC 155 (KLR)

Republic (ex-parte) through Alex Ochieng Apunda v Kisumu Inter-Locational Land Dispute Appeals Committee (Nyamthoyo) & 4 others [2016] KEELC 155 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
30 November 2016
SKS. M. Kibunja
993 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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A Kisumu court quashed two land dispute committee awards, confirming these local committees can be challenged when they deny parties a fair hearing.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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Alex Ochieng Apunda moved the court by notice of motion dated 16th December 2013 seeking orders of certiorari and prohibition against an award of the Kisumu Inter-locational Land Disputes Appeal Committee (Nyamthoi) dated 16th April 2013 concerning unsurveyed land at Nyamthoyi, East Kolwa location, Kisumu County. The respondents were the Committee, the District Commissioner Kisumu West and the Attorney General, with two interested parties opposing. The State conceded to the application; both sides filed written submissions. The court framed five issues: amenability of the committee's decisions to judicial review, whether the impugned decision was on appeal or review, ultra vires jurisdiction, fair hearing, and the appropriate orders. The court held the committee was a creation of local administration whose decisions were implementable through that administration and therefore amenable to judicial review. It found, however, that the records of both the initial award of 18th June 2010 and the review decision of 16th April 2013 were questionable and unreliable: the same members who decided the initial dispute sat on the review without hearing the applicant, and the chairman who had died in December 2012 was shown to have signed the 2013 award, which itself recorded that the original ruling had been deleted and replaced with false information. The court quashed both awards by certiorari and directed that the dispute be presented afresh to a differently constituted committee or forum, with each party bearing their own costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Amenability to judicial review

Holding

The 1st Respondent's decisions are subject to judicial review

Reasoning

The court found the committee a creation of local administration empowered to hear land disputes, with decisions implementable through local administration, bringing it within supervisory reach of the High Court's review jurisdiction.

p. 2
02

Fair hearing

Holding

The committee's awards were unreliable and the dispute should be heard afresh by differently constituted members

Reasoning

The record showed members who heard the initial dispute sat on the appeal/review of their own decision without hearing the applicant, the chairman who had died was shown to have signed the 2013 award, and the committee itself recorded that the original ruling had been deleted and replaced with false information. Both awards were thus questionable and unreliable.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A land disputes committee constituted under local administration whose awards are implemented through the local administration is amenable to judicial review
  • A committee deciding land disputes is bound to accord all parties before it a fair hearing

Court orders

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  1. 1.Order of certiorari quashing both the award of 18th June 2010 and the review (appeal) decision of 16th April 2013
  2. 2.Liberty to present the dispute to a differently constituted committee and/or forum for hearing in accordance with the law
  3. 3.Each party to bear their own costs
Jurisdiction invoked
Judicial review jurisdiction over a committee constituted under local administration (orders of certiorari and prohibition)

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Republic (ex-parte) through Alex Ochieng Apunda v Kisumu Inter-Locational Land Dispute Appeals Committee (Nyamthoyo) & 4 others [2016] KEELC 155 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2016). Notice of motion dated 16th December 2013 (judicial review). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2016/155/eng@2016-11-30

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.