Priscah Bisinga Ongeta (Suing as the legal Administrator of the Estate of Jackson Ongeta Change (deceased) v Samwel Gisiora Ogoti [2022] KEELC 668 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Environment and Land Court dismissed a landowner's fraud claim because she couldn't prove forgery with strong evidence, so the defendant kept the land.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Plaintiff proved fraud in the sub-division and transfer of LR No. Gesima Settlement Scheme/299
No fraud was proved; the dealings leading to the transfer of 2.5 Hectares to the Defendant were above board
The Plaintiff pleaded and particularized fraud but failed to lay a basis in evidence. She did not call the Surveyor, did not obtain Land Control Board records for comparison, and produced no evidence of forged signatures or transfer documents. The Land Registrar and County Surveyor's locus in quo reports confirmed the boundaries and the 4.1/2.5 hectare sub-division. The 1986 District Settlement Officer letter was of no probative value as its author was not called. Allegations of forgery made roughly 20 years after the vendor's death were unsupported.
The applicable standard and burden of proof for allegations of fraud
Fraud must be strictly proved to a standard higher than a balance of probabilities; the onus lies on the party alleging it
The court invoked Sections 107, 109 and 112 of the Evidence Act placing the burden on the Plaintiff, and adopted the Court of Appeal and former East African Court of Appeal authorities requiring strict proof of fraud - something more than a mere balance of probabilities but not beyond reasonable doubt.
Legal principles established
#- Fraud must be specifically pleaded with particulars and distinctly proved; it cannot be inferred from facts
- The standard of proof of fraud in civil proceedings is higher than a balance of probabilities but below proof beyond reasonable doubt
- The burden of proving fraud lies on the party alleging it
Court orders
#- 1.The suit is dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Environment and Land Court jurisdiction over land disputes (original civil suit; no specific constitutional provision cited)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Ngunjiri v Middle East Bank Kenya Limited (Cause 97 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 2409 (KLR)[2025] KEELRC 2409 (KLR)23 Jun 2025followed
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Priscah Bisinga Ongeta (Suing as the legal Administrator of the Estate of Jackson Ongeta Change (deceased) v Samwel Gisiora Ogoti [2022] KEELC 668 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). ELC No. 91 of 2021 (Formerly Environment and Land Court at Kisii Case No. 440 of 2015). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/668/eng@2022-03-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.