Nkatha & 76 others v District Surveyor [Isiolo County & 4 others; Kaindio & 565 others (Interested Parties) (Petition 8 of 2021) [2025] KEELC 3265 (KLR)

The court applied Anarita Karimi Njeru as restated in Mumo Matemu, holding that constitutional petitions must plead the provisions breached, particulars of the violation and the violators. The amended petition merely cited Articles 27 and 40 without particulars of how the rights were infringed or by whom, rendering the claim legally untenable and incapable of determination.

Relying on Wreck Motors Enterprises, the court held that title arises from an allotment letter, fulfilment of its conditions, and issuance of a title document. The Supreme Court in Torino Enterprises confirms an allotment letter is merely an offer incapable of conferring interest in land. The Petitioners produced no titles or allotment documents, hence no protected rights accrued.

The Petitioners alleged the land was ancestral land occupied since time immemorial but tendered no evidence. Applying Obo v National Land Commission and sections 107-109 of the Evidence Act, the court held that the burden lay on the Petitioners and that mere occupation without more does not establish an ancestral land claim; such a claim falls under Article 62 and sections 12 and 13 of the Land Act.

The court held that it is divested of jurisdiction to allocate land or direct the National Land Commission to do so, citing Article 249(2) and Cordison International. Asking the court to declare ownership absent documentation would amount to abrogating the Commission's constitutional mandate to manage and alienate public land, which a conscientious court must resist.