Watuku (Suing as the Administrator of theestate of Naftali Watuku Mbui-Deceased) v Land Registrar Murang’a & 12 others (Environment and Land Originating Motion E002 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2604 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court in Murang'a ordered the restoration of original access roads and beacons, ruling that land owners who encroach on roads cannot keep the grabbed land.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Existence of competing maps
There are two maps; the old map shows roads between parcels 860 and 870, and 869 and 871, absent from the current map
The court found the original map contained access roads which the current map omits. It interpreted interested parties' preference for the 'old map' as support for the status quo (the current map with fewer roads), while the Applicant and Respondents sought restoration of the original boundaries under the old map.
Interference with original boundaries
There is evidence of interference, including a 2002 surveyors' letter recording encroachment and extinguishment of a road
The court relied on a letter dated 15-10-2002 from Gatome and Associates, licensed land surveyors, to the Makuyu Land Tribunal, which recorded that a disputed strip was originally a road extinguished as redundant, with adjoining parcels benefiting, and that the proprietor of parcel 855 had encroached on parcel 854 by approximately 8 ft.
Whether the orders sought should issue
The orders should issue because encroachment was unlawful, no interested party showed their land would reduce, and impunity cannot be condoned
The court held that encroachments into original access roads were unlawful; that no interested party claimed their land size would reduce, only beneficiaries of the encroachment wished to remain; and that the court cannot permit anarchy where land owners encroach into roads, build, and then resist removal. The motion was allowed in terms of prayers 1 and 2.
Legal principles established
#- Encroachment into original access roads by land owners is unlawful and cannot be allowed to stand
- Courts will not condone impunity where land owners encroach into roads, build thereon and resist being moved
Court orders
#- 1.The 1st and 2nd Respondents to amend the current map, open up access roads and restore original boundaries and access roads for land parcel numbers Makuyu/Makuyu Block 1/853, 854, 855, 869, 870, 871, 898 and 899
- 2.The 1st and 2nd Respondents to re-establish and fix beacons for L.R. No. Makuyu/Makuyu Block 1/854, 855, 869, 871 and 9058
- 3.No order as to costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 1A, 1B and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act; Sections 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Land Registration Act; Articles 40 and 159(2)(d) and (e) of the Constitution of Kenya
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Watuku (Suing as the Administrator of theestate of Naftali Watuku Mbui-Deceased) v Land Registrar Murang’a & 12 others (Environment and Land Originating Motion E002 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2604 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2604/eng@2026-05-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.