Beth Nyathira Wainaina (suing as the legal representative of the Estate of Kenneth Wainaina Kago (Deceased)) v Kamau Mucheru & Septro Consult Ltd

Section 3(1) of the Land Disputes Tribunals Act limited the Tribunal's jurisdiction to division of or determination of boundaries to land, claims to occupy or work land, and trespass to land. A declaration of ownership of registered land under the Registered Land Act fell outside this mandate, so the Tribunal could not confer title as it purported to do.

The court relied on Court of Appeal authority holding that where a statute establishes a dispute resolution mechanism, it must be exhausted, and that a valid judgment remains enforceable unless overturned on appeal. The plaintiff failed to appeal to the Appeals Committee under Section 8(1) or to seek certiorari before adoption, and came to court too late; equity assists the vigilant, not the indolent.

Although the court found the Tribunal proceedings were a nullity for want of jurisdiction and for having been conducted against a deceased person, the award had transmuted into a judgment of a competent court, pursuant to which the 1st Defendant was registered as proprietor. Since that judgment had not been varied, vacated, set aside or reviewed in appropriate proceedings, the plaintiff's claim to ownership could not succeed.