Samuel Kimintae Mparo & 5 others v Arvind Kanji Patel (Being Sued as the Administrator of the Estate of Kanji Naran Patel – Deceased) [2020] KEELC 1590 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan landowner who hides the truth from court loses his injunction, and a missing land title record must be rebuilt by the Registrar.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether injunction pending appeal should issue in favour of the Plaintiffs
The application for injunction pending appeal was dismissed because the Plaintiffs did not come to court with clean hands and abused the court process
Although the Plaintiffs cited authorities supporting injunctions pending appeal (Erinford Properties and Kenyan decisions), the court, on its own research, found a related Machakos judgment in which the same Plaintiffs claimed parcel 45 as their home from 1969, contradicting their claim of residence on the suit land (parcel 44). They also annexed photographs never produced in evidence. Their lack of candour and non-disclosure of their true residence disentitled them from equitable relief despite an arguable appeal claim.
Whether the Land Registrar should be directed to reconstruct the Green Card for parcel Kajiado/Kaputiei South/44
The Defendant's application was allowed and the Land Registrar directed to reconstruct the Green Card within 90 days
The Green Card for the suit land was missing after judgment, preventing the registered proprietor from conducting a search. Sections 9 and 10 of the Land Registration Act mandate the Registrar to keep land records and furnish information to the public, which the Registrar failed to do. Section 33(5) empowers the Registrar to reconstruct lost or destroyed registers. Since the Defendant is the undisputed registered proprietor, he was entitled to a reconstructed Green Card.
Legal principles established
#- An injunction is an equitable remedy and a party seeking it must come to court with clean hands; unclean hands defeat entitlement to injunctive relief even where the cited authorities support injunctions pending appeal
- Under section 33(5) of the Land Registration Act, the Registrar has power to reconstruct a lost or destroyed land register after due enquiries and after giving sixty days' notice in the Gazette, and the court may direct such reconstruction where the register is missing
Court orders
#- 1.Dismissal of the Plaintiffs' application dated 13th May 2020 seeking injunction pending appeal, with costs to the Defendant
- 2.Allowance of the Defendant's application dated 14th May 2020
- 3.Direction that the Land Registrar reconstruct the Green Card in respect of LR No. Kajiado/Kaputiei South/44 within ninety (90) days from the date of the order
- 4.Costs of the Defendant's application to be in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent powers of the Environment and Land Court under the Land Registration Act and Civil Procedure Act to entertain interlocutory applications in a suit pending intended appeal
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Samuel Kimintae Mparo & 5 others v Arvind Kanji Patel (Being Sued as the Administrator of the Estate of Kanji Naran Patel – Deceased) [2020] KEELC 1590 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). ELC Case at Kajiado (involving land parcel Kajiado/Kaputiei South/44; originating summons filed 2013). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2020/1590/eng@2020-07-29
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.