Jacob & 4 others (Suing on Behalf of Themselves and on Behalf of Kisumu Centre Jua Kali Artisans Association) v Kisumu County Government & 12 others (Environment and Land Case Civil Suit 59 of 2019 & 8 of 2020 (Consolidated)) [2025] KEELC 7905 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kisumu's Environment and Land Court cancelled Jua Kali artisans' title to railway land but gave them up to five years or alternative land before eviction.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Plaintiffs were lawful owners of the suit property
No. The suit property was excised from the Railway land vested in the 6th Defendant since 1963/1967 and never surrendered; the purported allocation was unlawful and void
The 6th Defendant produced Grant No. I.R 21961 and survey plans showing the suit property fell within Title No. Kisumu Municipality/Block 6/95. Under the Government Lands Act only unalienated government land could be allocated, and under Sections 14(4) and (5) of the Kenya Railways Corporation Act the land could only be reallocated after surrender by the 6th Defendant, which never occurred. The inconsistent leases (one by the national government, one by the County Government) further undermined the Plaintiffs' root of title.
Whether the Plaintiffs could rely on indefeasibility of their registered title
No. Indefeasibility does not protect a title acquired through an illegal or irregular process
Relying on Dina Management and the quoted authorities, the court held that registration is absolute only where the creation of the title complied with applicable law and was free of fraud. Since the allocation was void, it created no valid interest despite the certificate of lease of 2016.
Whether the Plaintiffs acquired prescriptive rights over the suit property
No. Public land cannot be acquired by adverse possession
The suit property was public land allocated to a state corporation; the court agreed with the Defendants that prescription does not run against such land, and accordingly rejected the alternative prayer.
Whether the 6th Defendant's counterclaim succeeded
Partially. The declaration that the Railway land belongs to the 6th Defendant and cancellation of the Plaintiffs' title succeeded, but immediate eviction and injunction were withheld pending alternative land or reasonable time
The 6th Defendant proved ownership and the fraud in the subdivision, but the court invoked Article 43 socio-economic rights and the Government's Jua Kali policy, noting some 38,000 livelihoods depended on the land, and that the Plaintiffs had been encouraged to believe they owned the property. Eviction was therefore conditioned on alternative site or 5 years.
Legal principles established
#- A title obtained through a process that did not comply with the law is not indefeasible; the process of acquisition is material
- Only unalienated government land can be allocated by the President or Commissioner of Lands; land already alienated to a corporation can only revert through surrender
- A registered proprietor whose root of title is challenged must go beyond the title instrument and prove the legality of its acquisition
- A void act is a nullity that is automatically void without need for a court order to set it aside
- Even a person without title to land retains a right to humane treatment and protection of socio-economic rights against forcible eviction without alternative accommodation or reasonable time
Court orders
#- 1.A declaration that the entire parcel of land known as Title No. Kisumu Municipality Block 6/95, measuring 23.29 acres, belongs to Kenya Railways Corporation, and any subdivision to create the land parcel Title No. Kisumu Municipality Block 6/517 was illegal, irregular, fraudulent, null, and void
- 2.An order that the registration of John Jared Odero, Peter Nyaondo Nyawanda, and Paul Ohuare Obadha, the Trustees of Kisumu Centre Jua Kali Artisans Association, as the proprietors of the leasehold interest in land parcel Title No. Kisumu Municipality Block 6/517 is cancelled
- 3.An order that the Plaintiffs in ELC No. 59 of 2019, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Defendants in ELC No. 8 of 2020, shall vacate and hand over possession of land parcel Title No. Kisumu Municipality Block 6/517 to Kenya Railways Corporation once the National Government or the County Government of Kisumu gives them an alternative site acceptable to the Association, or within five (5) years from the date of judgment, whichever comes earlier, failing which Kenya Railways Corporation may apply for forcible eviction
- 4.The Plaintiffs' claim in ELC No. 59 of 2019 is dismissed
- 5.Each party shall bear its costs of the consolidated suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court under Article 162(2)(b) of the Constitution over disputes relating to land (as invoked by consolidation of ELC Suit No. 59 of 2019 with ELC Suit No. 8 of 2020)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Jacob & 4 others (Suing on Behalf of Themselves and on Behalf of Kisumu Centre Jua Kali Artisans Association) v Kisumu County Government & 12 others (Environment and Land Case Civil Suit 59 of 2019 & 8 of 2020 (Consolidated)) [2025] KEELC 7905 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELC Suit No. 59 of 2019 (consolidated with ELC Suit No. 8 of 2020). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/7905/eng@2025-11-11
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.