Christopher Wanga Simiti v David Wepukhulu Kasambula & another [2018] KEELC 4300 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's High Court cancelled titles created by selling disputed land during an ongoing case, warning that ignoring court orders amounts to contempt.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the respondents' subdivision of the suit land during the pendency of the suit was in breach of court orders
The respondents were aware of the orders of 20/9/2014 and deliberately subdivided and transferred the suit land to defeat the suit; the subdivisions were invalid and the applicant's application was allowed as prayed.
The court found that the respondents were served with the annulment proceedings from 2012 and were aware of the orders granted on 20/9/2014 restricting dealings on the suit parcel. The consent of the parties extended the interim orders to the determination of the suit. The respondents nonetheless used a grant obtained in the Kimilili succession cause to subdivide and sell portions on 14/1/2015, 14/9/2015 and 19/10/2015. The court held this was deliberate contempt intended to defeat the suit and the annulment application.
Whether the respondents had any transferable interest in the suit land
On the court's 10/3/2017 judgment, beneficial interest had passed to the applicant's father long before the respondents' father died, so the land was not part of his estate and there was nothing for the respondents to transfer.
The prior judgment held that the respondents' father had agreed with Christopher Wanga Simiti, the Land Control Board consented, and the land was transferred to the applicant's father. At the father's death the suit land was not part of his estate, so the purported subdivisions conveyed nothing. This underpinned the cancellation of the new titles.
Legal principles established
#- A party who subdivides and disposes of the subject matter of a suit during its pendency, in breach of court orders, commits contempt and abuses the process of the court
Court orders
#- 1.The new titles created out of LR No. Ndivisi/Khalumuli/1326, namely titles 4198, 4199, 4200 and 4201, be cancelled and declared null and void
- 2.The land reverts back to LR No. Ndivisi/Khalumuli/1326 to pave the way for implementation of the court's judgment of 10/3/2017
- 3.The Deputy Registrar of the Court to sign all documents in satisfaction and/or compliance with the judgment of 10/3/2017
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 1A, 1B, 3, 3A, 38, 63(e) and 98 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 22 Rule 28(5) of the Civil Procedure Rules; the court's own judgment of 10/3/2017 in the pending suit
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Christopher Wanga Simiti v David Wepukhulu Kasambula & another [2018] KEELC 4300 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2018). Bungoma High Court (suit number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2018/4300/eng@2018-02-22
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.