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ELCAllowedPetition (Notice of Motion dated 29th November 2024)· [2025] KEELC 491 (KLR)

Seroney v Land Registrar, Kapsabet Lands Office & another; Silverland Limited (Interested Party) (Environment & Land Petition E005 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 491 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
10 February 2025
GOG. M. A Ongondo
392 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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A Kapsabet court froze the revocation of a land title, keeping the property registered in the buyer's name until the main case is decided.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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By a Notice of Motion dated 29th November 2024, the petitioner/applicant Ziporrah Jebichi Seroney sought conservatory orders restraining the 1st Respondent from implementing the revocation of the title issued in favour of the interested party, Silverland Limited, over LR Number/Chekumia/502 (the suit land), pending hearing and determination of the petition. She also sought an order of status quo preserving the registration of the suit land in the name of Silverland Limited prior to the revocation. The applicant explained that she had executed a transfer pursuant to a sale of land transaction in favour of the interested party, and that the 1st respondent had arbitrarily cancelled the interested party's title without legal justification, exposing the petitioner to injustice, hardship and prejudice should the decision stand. Counsel for the interested party, Mr Kiplangat, indicated no opposition to the application, invoking lis pendens over the suit land. The court held that conservatory relief is available under Article 23(3) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, and that the court has power to grant interim preservation orders under Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act, 2015. Applying the doctrine of lis pendens as articulated in Ogada-vs-Mollin (2009) KLR, the court found the application firm and meritorious and allowed it in terms of prayers 4 and 5. Costs of the application were ordered to abide the outcome of the petition. The orders preserve the position pending full determination of the petition; the substantive dispute remains undetermined.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether conservatory orders and status quo orders were warranted pending determination of the petition

Holding

The application was meritorious; the court granted the conservatory order and status quo order to preserve the suit land's registration pending the petition.

Reasoning

The applicant executed a transfer of the suit land to the interested party, and the 1st respondent arbitrarily cancelled the title without legal justification. The court noted it may grant conservatory relief under Article 23(3) of the Constitution and interim preservation orders under Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act. The interested party did not oppose, invoking lis pendens, a doctrine preserving disputed property pending outcome of litigation. Accordingly, the application was allowed in terms of prayers 4 and 5.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • The doctrine of lis pendens preserves property in dispute pending the outcome or termination of a case

Court orders

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  1. 1.Conservatory order restraining the 1st Respondent from implementing the revocation of the title issued in favour of the Interested Party pending the hearing and determination of the Petition
  2. 2.Order of status quo as to the registration of LR Number/Chekumia/502 in the name of Silverland Limited prior to revocation by the 1st Respondent
  3. 3.Costs of the application to abide the outcome of the petition
Jurisdiction invoked
Article 23(3) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act, 2015

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Seroney v Land Registrar, Kapsabet Lands Office & another; Silverland Limited (Interested Party) (Environment & Land Petition E005 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 491 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Petition (Notice of Motion dated 29th November 2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/491/eng@2025-02-10

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.