Adan Dada Roba (Administrator of the Estate of Dadacha Roba Tulus) v National Land Commission & 2 others [2019] KEELC 4249 (KLR)

The 1st respondent argued that the gazette notice merely communicated a decision. The court rejected this, reasoning that without gazettement the decision would not be effective, and that decisions of the Registrar of Titles communicated by gazette notices have previously been nullified by courts. The ground of opposition itself betrayed that a decision had been made.

The court found the applicant was invited by letter dated 6/2/2017 to a hearing on 9/3/2017 (later 21/4/2017), informed of his right to legal representation and to submit documents, but neither he nor his advocate attended. The un-dated Board recommendation attached to a 2016 county letter was not shown to emanate from the Commission, so predetermination was unproved. The demand for the Board's recommendation was a sideshow irrelevant to the complaint he faced.

The applicant's counsel only orally informed the Commission of the stay order, no copy of the order accompanied the letter, and the order was made in the Commission's absence at the leave stage. Further, the applicant conceded he had not been enjoined in NBI JR 188 of 2017, which was closed for failure to file a substantive motion; the interim stay could not survive that termination. The Commission was entitled to conclude its process.

The Commission had jurisdiction under Section 14 to review grants and dispositions, and its finding that the suit land was reserved as a cemetery and not available for private allocation was consonant with its findings, not absurd. On bias, the court scoured the verifying affidavit in vain for evidence of bias and the submissions did not address the issue, so it was not proved.