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ELCPartially AllowedELC Appeal No 22 of 2017· [2018] KEELC 3254 (KLR)

Antony Nyongesa & another v Peter Wandenje Omachi [2018] KEELC 3254 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
17 May 2018
NMN.A. Matheka
2,100 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Environment and Land Court quashed tribunal decisions awarding registered land because tribunals could never decide who owns registered land.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This was an appeal to the Environment and Land Court at Kakamega against the decision of the Western Provincial Appeals Committee in Appeal No 97 of 2002, which had reversed the Mumias Land Disputes Tribunal in Case No 21 of 2001 and declared the respondent owner of land parcel S. WANGA/BUCHIFI/590. The appellants advanced six grounds, including improper constitution of the Appeals Committee with five instead of three members, excess of mandate in determining ownership, failure to consider the tribunal record, material contradictions in the respondent's evidence (he variously claimed to have purchased 4 hectares from Wambetsa Wesa and 10.5 acres from Nasiche Wambatsa, while the green card showed transmission by succession), and bias. The respondent countered that the five-member composition was a procedural irregularity causing no prejudice, that his claim was consistently one of trespass and encroachment, and that the appeal was an abuse of process. The court identified the preliminary issue as the jurisdiction of the tribunals. Relying on section 3(1) of the Land Disputes Tribunal Act (now repealed) and the M'Marete decision, it held that a claim to ownership of registered land lay outside the tribunals' statutory mandate, and that the Committee's award of the parcel to the respondent was in excess of jurisdiction. Without reaching the merits of composition, bias or contradictions, the court allowed the appeal, quashed both the Tribunal's and the Committee's decisions, and made no orders as to costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Jurisdiction of Land Disputes Tribunals over claims to ownership of registered land

Holding

The tribunals exceeded their jurisdiction by determining title to the suit land; their decisions were a nullity and were quashed

Reasoning

Section 3(1) of the Land Disputes Tribunal Act confined tribunals to boundary disputes, claims to occupy or work land, and trespass. The dispute before the Mumias Tribunal and the Provincial Appeals Committee was essentially a claim to ownership, and the Committee's ruling expressly awarded the land parcel to the respondent. Following M'Marete v Republic, such a determination went beyond the statutory mandate, and the court declined to examine the merits of composition or bias since the proceedings were ultra vires from the outset.

p. 3
02

Proper scope of tribunal jurisdiction distinguished from prohibition on dealing with registered land

Holding

The court applied Odunga J's formulation that tribunals were not barred from registered land per se, only from determining title

Reasoning

The respondent's reliance on Masagu Ole Naumo was consistent with the court's finding: the vice was not that the land was registered, but that the tribunals purported to decide who owned it. The Committee's order that parcel No 590 'belongs' to the respondent was a determination of title, squarely outside section 3(1).

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • Land Disputes Tribunals had jurisdiction only over boundary disputes, claims to occupy or work land, and trespass to land under section 3(1) of the Land Disputes Tribunal Act; claims to ownership or title of registered land fell outside their jurisdiction

Court orders

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  1. 1.Appeal allowed
  2. 2.Decision/verdict of the Mumias Land Disputes Tribunal and the Western Provincial Land Disputes Appeals Committee quashed
  3. 3.No orders as to costs

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Land Disputes Tribunal ActSection 3(1) (as quoted), Act No. 18 of 1990
  • Registered Land Actreferred to in quoted extract from M'Marete v Republic

Cases cited (2)

  • M'Marete v Republic & 3 others
    Court of Appeal, Nyeri, Civil Appeal 259 of 2000 [2004] eKLR
  • Masagu Ole Naumo v Principal Magistrate Kajiado Law Courts & another
    Nairobi, High Court, JR 370 of 2013 [2014] eKLR
On appeal from
Western Provincial Appeals Committee (from Mumias Land Disputes Tribunal Case No 21 of 2001)
Appeal No 97 of 2002
Jurisdiction invoked
Appeal under the Land Disputes Tribunal Act (now repealed); Environment and Land Court jurisdiction over disputes concerning land

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, "Antony Nyongesa & another v Peter Wandenje Omachi [2018] KEELC 3254 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2018). ELC Appeal No 22 of 2017. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2018/3254/eng@2018-05-17

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