Republic v District Land Registrar, Kajiado & 3 others; Saidimu (Exparte) (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application 95 of 2017) [2022] KEELC 2803 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The High Court-like Land Court in Kajiado dismissed a landowner's bid to force a fresh boundary survey, confirming official land records and the land registrar's authority control boundary disputes in Kenya.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#The area of L.R. Kajiado/Purko/625
The parcel measures 24.0 hectares and not 59.3 hectares as claimed by the applicant.
The applicant adduced no evidence to prove the land was bigger than 24.0 hectares. The area list, the Registry Index Map and the land register all confirmed the parcel as 24.0 hectares, so the official records prevailed over the applicant's claim.
Encroachment by L.R. Kajiado/Purko/624 onto L.R. Kajiado/Purko/625
No encroachment was proved.
Two official surveys, including the demarcation of 11th October 2013 and the later site visit of 10/3/2017, confirmed the boundaries as fixed. The applicant bore the burden of proof but had no evidence better than the official evidence.
Jurisdiction over boundary disputes between registered parcels
Boundary disputes between registered parcels fall within the land registrar's jurisdiction under Section 18 of the Land Registration Act; the court may only fault the registrar if he acted ultra vires, which was not proved.
The court held that the statutory scheme vests boundary determination in the land registrar. Judicial review remedies of prohibition and mandamus were unavailable because no ultra vires conduct was demonstrated; both official demarcations confirmed the existing boundaries.
Legal principles established
#- The land registrar has jurisdiction to determine boundary disputes between parcels of registered land under Section 18 of the Land Registration Act, and the court can only intervene if the registrar acted ultra vires.
Court orders
#- 1.The applicant's notice of motion dated 8th December 2016 is dismissed with costs to the respondents
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 53 Rules (1) and (2) of the Civil Procedure Rules 2010; Sections 8 and 9 of the Law Reform Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Republic v District Land Registrar, Kajiado & 3 others; Saidimu (Exparte) (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application 95 of 2017) [2022] KEELC 2803 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). Not stated in the excerpt. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/2803/eng@2022-06-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.