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ELCPartially AllowedKapsabet ELC Notice of Motion dated 3rd February 2025· [2025] KEELC 486 (KLR)
Laitobir v Kogo & another (Miscellaneous Case E006 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 486 (KLR)
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·~2 min to read original · ~4 min briefThe bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#The applicant, Aileen Jepleting Laitoboir, filed a Notice of Motion dated 3rd February 2025 under, inter alia, sections 1A, 1B, 3, 3A and 18 of the Civil Procedure Act seeking to have Kabiyet ELC No E019 of 2024 called into and transferred to the Environment and Land Court for hearing and determination. She claims ownership of 4.2 acres of land reference Nandi/Kebulonik/596 by adverse possession of over 12 years, and argued that following a recent Court of Appeal pronouncement magistrates' courts lack jurisdiction over adverse possession claims, the pending Kabiyet suit must be moved to the ELC. The respondents, through Mr Sang instructed by Choge, raised no objection to the application. Relying on the Court of Appeal decision in Sugawara v Kiruti [2024] KECA 1417 (KLR), the court accepted that the magistrate's court at Kabiyet lacks jurisdiction over adverse possession disputes, and reiterated the trite position from Republic v Karisa Chengo (2017) eKLR that lack of jurisdiction renders a court's decision void. The court found the application firm and merited and allowed it in terms of the order seeking to call Kabiyet ELC No E019 of 2024 into the Environment and Land Court. The costs of the application were ordered to abide the outcome of the suit. The judgment was delivered at Kapsabet on 11th February 2025.
Key legal issues
#01
Whether the magistrate's court at Kabiyet has jurisdiction over the applicant's adverse possession claim
Holding
The magistrate's court lacks jurisdiction over adverse possession claims, justifying transfer of the suit to the Environment and Land Court
Reasoning
The applicant seeks to claim 4.2 acres of land by adverse possession. Following the Court of Appeal's pronouncement in Sugawara v Kiruti that magistrates' courts lack jurisdiction over adverse possession matters, the pending Kabiyet suit cannot properly be determined by that court. Lack of jurisdiction renders decisions void (Republic v Karisa Chengo). The application was unopposed and the court found it firm and merited.
p. 2
Legal principles established
#- Lack of jurisdiction renders a court's decision void
- The magistrate's court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine adverse possession claims, per the Court of Appeal
Court orders
#- 1.That Kabiyet ELC No E019 of 2024 be called into the Environment and Land Court at Kapsabet for hearing and determination before that court (order number 3 sought, paragraph 1(a) of the Notice of Motion)
- 2.Costs of the application to abide the outcome of the suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 1A, 1B, 3, 3A and 18 of the Civil Procedure Act, Chapter 21 Laws of Kenya (application to call for and transfer suit from the magistrate's court at Kabiyet)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Laitobir v Kogo & another (Miscellaneous Case E006 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 486 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Kapsabet ELC Notice of Motion dated 3rd February 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/486/eng@2025-02-11
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.