Sirikwa Squatters Group v Commissioner of Lands & 9 others [2017] KEELC 3638 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Eldoret Land Court cancelled titles over Uasin Gishu land and ordered it allocated to a squatters' group whose presidential allocation officials had confirmed in writing.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Legitimate expectation of the squatters to be allocated the suit land
The petitioners' members had a legitimate expectation, arising from the Presidential approval of 1998, the surrender by the 6th respondent and the chain of official correspondence confirming the allocation
The court traced a paper trail: the Presidential approval of 28 October 1998, the Director of Land Adjudication's letters of 2001, the Commissioner of Lands' letter of 17 July 2007 confirming the allocation still stood, and District Lands Officer letters of 2008 confirming accommodation capacity. These constituted promises/representations by public authorities sufficient to found a substantive legitimate expectation worthy of protection.
Whether the land was public or private upon surrender
The land reverted to the Government on surrender and the subsequent conversion to the Registered Land Act regime and all ensuing transactions were a nullity
Section 44 of the Registration of Titles Act (Cap 281) provides that on surrender the lessee's interest vests in the lessor. The court held the surrendered parcels reverted to Government to be administered under the Government Lands Act (Cap 280), not converted to freehold under the Registered Land Act (Cap 300); the conversion and consequent subdivisions and titles were therefore unlawful.
Indefeasibility of the 7th respondent's title vis-à-vis the petitioners' legitimate expectation
The 7th respondent's registration did not defeat the petitioners' legitimate expectation, though he was found innocent of fraud and entitled to retain at least 27 hectares
The court balanced the finding that titles issued to the 7th respondent offended the petitioners' legitimate expectation against the absence of fraud or wrongdoing by the 7th respondent, who paid consideration of approximately Ksh.30,000,000. It ordered cancellation of titles generally but preserved his occupation by way of reallocation of not less than 27 hectares and maintenance of status quo.
Legal principles established
#- Legitimate expectation is an overriding interest that survives subsequent registration of a third party as proprietor
- Upon surrender of a lease under the Registration of Titles Act, the land reverts to the Government to be dealt with under the Government Lands Act
Court orders
#- 1.Order directing the 1st–5th Respondents to perform their constitutional duties and issue title deeds for L.R. Nos. 9606, 9607, 9608, 745, 742/2, 7739/7R, 12398, 10793 and 10794 in the names of the petitioners in terms of the letter Ref. DS/C/1/VOL.11/01 dated 11 October 2001 and the Presidential approval of 28 October 1998
- 2.Declaration that the petitioners' right to protection of property has been violated or is about to be violated and that the suit parcels are in danger of arbitrary acquisition by the 6th–10th Respondents
- 3.Declaration that the survey works carried out by the 9th and 10th Respondents without authority of the Director of Surveys were illegal and of no legal effect
- 4.Declaration that the acts of the 6th, 7th and 8th Respondents in attempting to deprive the petitioners of the allotted parcels were without legal basis, illegal and unconstitutional
- 5.Cancellation of all resultant titles issued from the suit parcels to the 6th and 7th Respondents and all other beneficiaries, with rectification of the registers
- 6.Order that the 7th Respondent be allocated not less than 27 hectares of the suit land and that status quo be maintained over the approximately 27 hectares he occupies
- 7.Costs of the petition to the petitioners
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Articles 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 35, 40, 47 and 165 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sirikwa Squatters Group v Commissioner of Lands & 9 others [2017] KEELC 3638 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2017). Petition No. 22 of 2012 (as per record; not stated in extract). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2017/3638/eng@2017-02-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.