Agricultural Development Corporation Lands Limited v Raphael Mlewa Mkare & 515 others [2022] KEELC 1065 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Malindi court ordered 313 squatters off government farmland, awarded the owner Kshs. 33 million, and confirmed registered titles win over squatter claims in Kenya.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Ownership of the suit lands
The Plaintiffs are the absolute owners of the suit parcels by virtue of registration
The Plaintiffs produced titles/indentures, transfers, survey maps and official searches. Under Sections 24(a) and 26(1) of the Land Registration Act, registration vests absolute and indefeasible ownership, challengeable only on fraud or misrepresentation. The Defendants' adverse possession suit in ELC No. 16 of 2010 was dismissed, confirming Plaintiffs' ownership, and one cannot claim adverse possession over government land.
Trespass
The Defendants are trespassers having entered and remained on the land without permission
Evidence showed the Defendants put up temporary structures, cultivated the land, ignored notices to vacate and the three months' notice following the judgment in ELC No. 16 of 2010. Their own adverse possession suit confirmed they were on the land unlawfully, and the court in that suit decreed they were illegal squatters on government land.
Special damages
The Plaintiffs proved special damages of Kshs. 33,442,282/-
PW1 itemized the claim (loss of 203 cows, cost of fodder, loss of business value) and produced death certificates of the animals and exhibits showing costs of buying and transporting hay/grass from Kitale and Nakuru. Applying Hahn v Singh, special damages specifically pleaded and strictly proved was made out, though mesne profits were not proved.
Legal principles established
#- Registration of a person as proprietor of land vests absolute ownership and associated rights in that person
- A certificate of title is prima facie evidence of absolute and indefeasible ownership, challengeable only on fraud, misrepresentation or illegal/unprocedural/corrupt acquisition
- Special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved
Court orders
#- 1.Permanent injunction restraining the Defendants, their servants and/or agents from interfering, trespassing, selling, wasting or interfering with the Plaintiffs' quiet enjoyment and use of the suit parcels of land known as LR Nos. 513, 510, 490, 495, 489, 483, 482, 488, 455, 456, 550, 475, 480, 427, 461, 469, 472, 460, 454, 479, 458, 114, 440, 540, M53, M54, M58, M38, M29 and 392 at Malindi township, Kilifi County
- 2.Defendants to pay special damages of Kshs. 33,442,282/-
- 3.Defendants to give vacant possession of the suit parcels of land within 60 days, failing which the Plaintiffs may evict them in strict adherence to the law
- 4.OCS Malindi Police Station to provide security in effecting the court's orders
- 5.Defendants to pay costs of the suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original civil suit; Environment and Land Court jurisdiction over land in Kilifi County (Land Registration Act, 2012 applied)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Agricultural Development Corporation Lands Limited v Raphael Mlewa Mkare & 515 others [2022] KEELC 1065 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). Malindi ELC Suit (Plaint dated 27th February 2017). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/1065/eng@2022-03-02
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.