Anyega & 3 others (Pentecostal Assemblies of God (Bahati PAG Church) Through its Trustees) v Donjud Company (KE) & another (Environment & Land Case E045 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 4822 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court protected a church's land title, ruling that fraud or public-land allegations cannot defeat a certificate of lease without actual legal proceedings proving them.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether a prima facie case was established
Yes; the applicant holds a certificate of lease with a paper trail (allotment letter, payments, judgment in Kitale Civil Suit No. 4 of 2006) that was never set aside, while the respondents produced no successful proceedings impeaching the title.
The court relied on the presumption of validity of the certificate of lease under Section 26(1) of the Land Registration Act. The applicant produced the root of title: an allotment letter dated 11/6/1998, payment evidence, a certificate of lease dated 20/5/2003 and a judgment of Kitale High Court Civil Case No. 4 of 2006 dated 8/7/2011. The 2nd respondent's allegations of fraud and public land were bare, unsupported by any suit, objection or protest letter successfully challenging the title, so the right alleged required rebuttal and was prima facie established.
Irreparable loss and balance of convenience
Both weighed in the applicant's favour; the respondents demonstrated no greater inconvenience if the injunction issued.
The court noted that the 2nd respondent had not brought any material showing it would be more inconvenienced by the injunction than the applicants, who are absolute title holders with rights protected under Article 40 of the Constitution, Order 40 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Section 63(e) of the Civil Procedure Act. The respondents' public-interest and public-land arguments, drawn from the Lelli authority, did not displace the applicant's prima facie protected proprietary rights.
Legal principles established
#- A certificate of lease is prima facie evidence of ownership under Section 26(1) of the Land Registration Act and cannot be impeached by bare allegations of fraud without any suit or proceedings.
Court orders
#- 1.A temporary injunction granted restraining the respondents from entering, constructing, leasing, transferring, alienating or doing any act on Title No. Kitale Municipality Block 6/231, to last for one year
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 40 of the Constitution, Order 40 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Section 63(e) of the Civil Procedure Act (injunction jurisdiction); Section 26(1) of the Land Registration Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Anyega & 3 others (Pentecostal Assemblies of God (Bahati PAG Church) Through its Trustees) v Donjud Company (KE) & another (Environment & Land Case E045 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 4822 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELC Case of 2024 (application dated 4/12/2024), Kitale. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/4822/eng@2025-06-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.