Republic v National Land Commission Ex parte Kinnock Limited [2019] KEELC 3136 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's land commission cannot revoke your title without a fair hearing, and courts will quash such decisions.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Respondent's notice published in the Standard Newspaper on 23rd January 2018 was procedurally fair and lawful
The notice was an administrative action that flouted the rules of natural justice and statutory procedure, and the decision to revoke the Applicant's title was made without jurisdiction; certiorari and prohibition were granted.
The impugned notice was an administrative action engaging Article 47 of the Constitution and Section 4 of the Fair Administrative Action Act, requiring procedural fairness. The Respondent failed to give the Applicant an opportunity to be heard as required by Section 14 of the National Land Commission Act, failed to publish its decision in the Gazette and by radio announcement as required by Section 152C of the Land Act, and did not supply the findings of its investigation. Further, the Land Act gives the Respondent no power to revoke title directly. The decision was therefore illegal and void.
Whether the application was incompetent for challenging the merits of the decision rather than the decision-making process
The court found the application challenged the process, not the merits, and was competent.
The Respondent argued the application was incompetent as it challenged the merits of the decision. The Applicant contended, and the court accepted, that the challenge was to the process: the failure to afford a hearing, to publish as required, and to act within statutory jurisdiction. These are classic grounds of illegality and procedural impropriety recognized in judicial review under the Lord Diplock framework in Council for Civil Services Unions v Minister for Civil Service.
Legal principles established
#- A decision made in breach of the rules of natural justice is null and void ab initio
- The National Land Commission has no power under the Land Act to revoke a registered proprietor's title; it may only direct the Registrar to do so
Court orders
#- 1.An order of judicial review of certiorari to remove into the court and quash the decision of the Respondent contained in the Standard Newspaper of 23rd January 2018 directing the Applicants to vacate their properties known as MOMBASA/MAINLAND SOUTH/BLOCK 1/1818; MOMBASA/BLOCK XLVII/150; MOMBASA/MAINLAND SOUTH/BLOCK I/1795; MOMBASA/MAINLAND SOUTH/BLOCK I/1796; and MOMBASA/MAINLAND SOUTH/BLOCK 1/1814 all situate in Mombasa
- 2.An order of prohibition prohibiting the Respondent or any person acting on its behalf from evicting the Applicants or their tenants, agents or assigns from the said properties and from revoking the Applicants' titles to the said properties without following due process of law
- 3.The Applicants to have the costs of the proceedings
- 4.The orders to apply to JR No. 6 of 2018 and JR No. 7 of 2018
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Judicial review jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court under the Fair Administrative Action Act and the Land Act/ National Land Commission Act (leave granted for judicial review of certiorari and prohibition)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Republic v National Land Commission Ex parte Kinnock Limited [2019] KEELC 3136 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Judicial Review Misc. Civil Application No. 8 of 2018. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2019/3136/eng@2019-05-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.