Ali Mohamed Dagane (Granted Power of Attorney by Abdullahi Muhumed Dagane,suing on behalf of the Estate of Mohamed Haji Dagane) v Hakar Abshir & 3 others [2021] KEELC 3604 (KLR)

The court invoked sections 107 and 108 of the Evidence Act, holding that whoever asserts a legal right must prove it. The Plaintiff's claim rested entirely on the 1994 allotment letter issued to the deceased; once the Defendants attacked that letter, the legality and validity of the acquisition process fell for scrutiny. The Plaintiff bore the burden of showing a legally valid acquisition, which he failed to discharge.

Tracing the seven-step process for disposing of government land under the repealed Government Lands Act, the court found the allotment letter had a PDP attached but that the deceased admitted in his letter of 19 November 2008 that he never paid the stand premium and ground rent. The offer therefore lapsed in early May 1994, and the land was free for reallocation, as the deceased's own 2008 letter requesting reallocation confirmed.

The allotment letter was issued to 'Mohamed Shagana', not the deceased Mohamed Haji Dagane. Although an affidavit attributed the discrepancy to a misspelling, the deceased signed his November 2008 reallocation request as Mohamed Shagana, undermining that claim. Having no interest, the deceased could not lawfully obtain a beacon certificate; the certificate of 15 December 2005 was therefore invalid.