Lithara v Land Adjudication and Settlement Officer Tigania Central; M'Abiru (Interested Party) (Judicial Review E001 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 1775 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court quashed a land officer's decision because he had no power to cancel title deeds on already-registered land.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction of the land adjudication officer over titled land
The 1st respondent acted without jurisdiction by determining the objection and ordering cancellation of titles and amendment of the RIM on registered land, powers belonging to the land registrar and the court under Sections 26 and 80 of the Land Registration Act.
The record showed the suit parcel had been registered and titled during the pendency of the earlier court case. The 1st respondent nonetheless cancelled the titles and ordered consolidation of parcels. Section 29 of the Land Consolidation Act confers no such power; exceeding statutory mandate is ultra vires and an error of law. The decision was therefore made without jurisdiction and was a nullity ab initio, warranting certiorari.
Procedural impropriety and bias
Failure to record the views of the divided adjudication committee, the committee's failure to sign the decision, and determination of unraised issues in favour of the interested party (who had not cross-appealed) amounted to procedural impropriety and apparent bias.
The applicant invoked the classic grounds of illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety. The adjudication committee was divided yet the 1st respondent made a unilateral decision not signed by committee members, without recording their views as earlier ordered. He also went out of his way to decide issues never raised, casting doubt on his neutrality and giving rise to a real likelihood of bias under the Metropolitan Properties test.
Scope of judicial review under Order 53
Absent a claim of constitutional violation, judicial review is confined to the process and manner of the decision; a mere citation of constitutional provisions does not elevate it into a constitutional case.
Relying on the Supreme Court's decision in Dande & 3 others v Inspector General, the court held its jurisdiction supervisory, examining whether the administrative body acted within mandate with lawfulness, reasonableness and procedural fairness under Article 47 and the Fair Administrative Action Act, including proportionality as a ground of review.
Legal principles established
#- A public officer can only exercise powers donated by statute; a land adjudication and settlement officer has no mandate to cancel title deeds or order amendment of a Registry Index Map, powers reserved to the land registrar and the court under the Land Registration Act.
- In judicial review under Order 53 and Sections 8 & 9 of the Law Reform Act, the court's jurisdiction is supervisory and confined to the process by which the decision was made, not its merits.
Court orders
#- 1.Judicial review order of certiorari quashing the decision made on 4.4.2023 in A/R Objection No. 1877 Ankamia Adjudication Section in its entirety
- 2.Costs of the application to the exparte applicant
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Sections 8 & 9 of the Law Reform Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (2)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Republic v Regional Surveyor, Nyanza & 4 others; Oduogo (Ex parte Applicant) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case E012 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 8122 (KLR)[2025] KEELC 8122 (KLR)20 Nov 2025
- Republic v Regional Surveyor, Nyanza & 4 others; Oduogo (Ex parte Applicant) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case E012 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 8122 (KLR)[2025] KEELC 8122 (KLR)20 Nov 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Lithara v Land Adjudication and Settlement Officer Tigania Central; M'Abiru (Interested Party) (Judicial Review E001 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 1775 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Judicial Review E015 of 2023 (Meru). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2024/1775/eng@2024-03-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.