Maritim v Koech & 2 others (Environment and Land Appeal E019 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 7156 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court dismissed a landowner's appeal, upholding a village-elder-brokered 2010 agreement that gave a neighbour's family 3 acres of his land.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Validity and import of the Agreement dated 17.04.2010
The Agreement was valid, conformed to Section 3(3) of the Law of Contract Act, and constituted a settlement of the land dispute pursuant to traditional dispute resolution; it ceded 3 acres to the Respondents' father
The trial court found the agreement satisfied Section 3(3) of the Law of Contract Act, having been signed with ID details and witnessed by a village committee. Although effecting a disposition, it was neither a sale nor a lease but a settlement reached through village elders, engaging Article 159(2)(c) and Section 20 of the ELC Act, which empowers the court to adopt such settlements. The appellant pleaded bare denials without particulars of forgery.
Validity of the Agreement dated 22.12.2023
The agreement was invalid and unenforceable for lack of capacity, the Respondents not having undertaken succession in respect of their father's Estate
The trial court found the Respondents had not obtained grants of representation for their father's estate, so they lacked capacity to enter into the later agreement. The appellate court found no fault in that finding and affirmed it.
Whether the Appellant's trespass claim could stand
The claim of trespass could not stand given the valid 2010 settlement agreement
The agreement ceded 3 acres to the Respondents' father and, by extension, the 1st Respondent as administrator of the estate could lay a valid claim to those 3 acres. Consequently the Appellant could not prove trespass by the Respondents on the portion they occupy, and the trial court was right to dismiss the suit.
Legal principles established
#- A first appellate court must reconsider the evidence, evaluate it and draw its own conclusions
- Agreements arising from traditional dispute resolution mechanisms may be recognized and adopted by the Environment and Land Court under Article 159(2)(c) of the Constitution and Section 20 of the Environment and Land Court Act
- A party alleging forgery or fraud in a document must plead and particularize the particulars of forgery or fraud
Court orders
#- 1.The Appeal is dismissed
- 2.The decision of Hon. W.C Waswa dated and delivered on 4th April 2025 is affirmed, save for the order on costs
- 3.The order on costs is substituted with an order that each party shall bear its own costs, both in the Appeal and in the suit before the trial court
- 4.The court recognizes and adopts the Agreement dated 17.04.2010 as a settlement of the dispute through the Traditional dispute resolution mechanism, also known as Alternative Justice System
- On appeal from
- Senior Resident Magistrate's Court, Kilgoris
- SRM Kilgoris ELC Case E031/2024
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appellate jurisdiction over the trial court's decision; Section 20 of the Environment and Land Court Act; Article 159(2)(c) of the Constitution
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Maritim v Koech & 2 others (Environment and Land Appeal E019 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 7156 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELC Appeal (Kilgoris) – Appeal from SRM Kilgoris ELC Case E031/2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/7156/eng@2025-10-23
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