Kimani Kamau and 4 others, Antonney Ngatia Ndungu & Peter Kahure Ndiritu v Saitoti Ole Mosiro, Land Registrar,Kajiado North District, Chief Land Registrar & Attorney General (Environment & Land Case 441 of 2014) (Environment and Land) [2017] KEELC 1221 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court dismissed contempt, injunction and inhibition bids in a Kajiado land row, but allowed two buyers to join the case.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Contempt of the consent order of 26th March 2015
No contempt established against the second plaintiff and the Land Registrar Kajiado
Parcel Ngong/Ngong/17957 was never part of the suit properties covered by the consent and had already been subdivided, with the new titles issuing on 6th February 2015, more than a month before the consent was recorded. The applicants for contempt therefore could not show a contravention of the order in respect of those parcels.
Inhibition orders over the subdivided parcels
Refused; the application was misconceived
There was no evidence that the four parcels bordered the first defendant's land to found a boundary dispute. His real grievance was that more land than he sold was given to the purchasers, which is a claim for land; having no counter-claim, he could not sustain inhibition orders.
Joinder of the proposed sixth and seventh plaintiffs
Allowed
Their presence was necessary because the first defendant asserted the mother title bordered his parcel and ought to have been included in the suit. Joining them avoided multiplicity of suits and protected their interests in the resultant subdivisions.
Injunction sought in the application dated 9th April 2014
Dismissed
The applicants complained of the Land Registrar's determination and survey but did not aver any attempt to implement the surveyor's findings. Their claim of absence at the survey was inconsistent with their assertion that measurements were taken up to the riverbank, undermining the application.
Legal principles established
#- A person cannot be held in contempt of an order where the property in question was not affected by that order.
- A permanent injunction cannot be granted at interlocutory stage.
- A party whose presence is necessary to avoid multiplicity of suits should be joined as a plaintiff.
Court orders
#- 1.Application dated 9th April 2014 dismissed with costs to the respondents
- 2.Application dated 19th June 2015 dismissed with costs to the respondents
- 3.Application dated 1st November 2016 allowed to the extent that the proposed 6th and 7th plaintiffs are enjoined as plaintiffs; an amended plaint to be filed within 14 days; costs of that application to be costs in the cause
- 4.File transferred to Kajiado Environment and Land Court for hearing
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Environment and Land Court jurisdiction over land situate within Kajiado; suit transferred to Kajiado Environment and Land Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kimani Kamau and 4 others, Antonney Ngatia Ndungu & Peter Kahure Ndiritu v Saitoti Ole Mosiro, Land Registrar,Kajiado North District, Chief Land Registrar & Attorney General (Environment & Land Case 441 of 2014) (Environment and Land) [2017] KEELC 1221 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2017). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2017/1221/eng@2017-10-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.