Uphill Crops Limited v Ole Koti & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E017 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 531 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the suit and lease offended section 45 of the Law of Succession Act
The lease executed before any grant of letters of administration, covering shares of deceased co-owners, amounted to intermeddling; the suit survives only against the 1st Defendant in respect of his own share
The title was jointly registered in three names, two of whom were deceased. The 1st Defendant held no grant for the deceased co-owners' estates, and the lease was executed on 01.08.2020 before any grant issued; the 3rd Defendant's grant issued only in 2025. The 1st Defendant therefore lacked capacity to lease the deceased's shares, offending section 45, though a valid lease subsists over his own share.
Whether the injunction application met the Giella v Cassman Brown principles
As against the 1st Defendant only, the Applicant established a prima facie case, irreparable harm and balance of convenience, justifying the temporary injunction
The uncontroverted lease with the 1st Defendant conferred contractual rights recognised under Order 40 rule 2. A breach and threats to repudiate would cause irreparable loss given the investment in tilling and planting, and the balance of convenience favours the Applicant at that stage of the project.
Whether the contempt application against the 3rd Defendant could proceed
The contempt application was dismissed as moot once the suit against the 3rd Defendant was struck out
The committal application was directed solely at the 3rd Defendant. With the suit against her struck out for offending section 45 of the Law of Succession Act, no live controversy remained, and on the Institute for Social Accountability definition of mootness the court declined to decide it.
Legal principles established
#- No person shall, except as expressly authorised by law or by a grant of representation, take possession of, dispose of, or otherwise intermeddle with free property of a deceased person
- An action brought by or premised on a person who has not taken out letters of administration in respect of a deceased's estate is incompetent from inception
- A surviving joint registered owner may validly lease only his own share, lacking capacity to lease the shares of deceased co-owners for whom he holds no grant
- Where events deprive the parties of the pursued relief, a matter becomes moot and the court declines to decide it
Court orders
#- 1.The suit against the 2nd Defendant is struck out, the plaintiff being non-suited against him as he did not execute the lease agreement
- 2.The suit against the 3rd Defendant is struck out for offending section 45 of the Law of Succession Act
- 3.The application dated 29.06.2025 is allowed in terms of prayer 4 thereof as against the 1st Defendant/Respondent only (restraint from harassing and/or evicting the Applicant from Narok/Transmara/Kimintet 'C'/11 and from interfering with the Applicant's agricultural activities)
- 4.The application dated 24.09.2025 (contempt) is found to be moot and is dismissed
- 5.Costs in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original civil jurisdiction over the land dispute and interlocutory applications under the Civil Procedure Act and Order 40 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Uphill Crops Limited v Ole Koti & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E017 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 531 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). not_stated_in_judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/531/eng@2026-02-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.