Njogu v Maina (Suing as the Administrator of the Estate of Wanjiku Nderi Muchiria alias Wanjiru Nderi) & 2 others (Environment and Land Appeal E014 of 2025) (Environment and Land) [2026] KEELC 893 (KLR)

The court applied section 26(1)(b) of the Land Registration Act and the Dina Management doctrine that a proprietor must prove legality of acquisition. The Appellant produced no receipts, share certificate or ballot for Wambui Otieno, whose name appeared in no register. The chairman admitted records were amended at office level to insert the Appellant's name. The title entry dated 2004 predated the sale agreement of 2009, which the court found to be an inexplicable anomaly pointing to irregular acquisition.

The court held that a land-buying company's membership register is the master record of entitlement, verified by receipts and ballot papers. The deceased's name appeared in the register, she had paid the requisite fees, taken possession and farmed the land until her death. The Appellant's forfeiture defence based on Gazette Notice No. 2688 of 2003 failed because nothing in the Notice spoke of her forfeiture and no default was proved.

Relying on section 30(g) of the repealed Registered Land Act and the Supreme Court decision in Shah v Mombasa Bricks & Tiles, the court held that the rights of a person in actual occupation are overriding interests not requiring noting on the register. The deceased occupied and farmed the land until her death, and the Appellant admitted she neither resided on nor farmed the land, so the occupation-based interest prevailed.

The Appellant argued that as registered proprietor under section 71(1) of the Land Registration Act the caution should be vacated. However, since the court affirmed that her title was impeached as irregularly acquired and the Respondent's mother held a protected overriding interest, the caution could subsist. No fault was found with the trial Magistrate's dismissal of the counterclaim.