Adpack Limited v Nyamasage (Appeal E252 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 262 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court ruled a disputed parcel must be included in a deceased man's estate, but an equal split of the other parcel stands.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction of the ELC to entertain an appeal from a Magistrate's Court decision in a Succession Cause
The ELC lacks jurisdiction to hear such an appeal; however, the court elected not to strike out the appeal given the parties' preference for a decision on the merits
The court reviewed the Law of Succession Act, the Magistrates' Courts Act, and the Environment and Land Court Act. Appeals from Magistrates' Courts are to the High Court. The ELC's appellate jurisdiction is limited to appeals from subordinate courts in respect of disputes relating to the environment, the use and occupation of, and title to, land. A Succession Cause does not fall within that scope.
Inclusion of land parcel number 263 in the distribution of the estate
The trial court erred in excluding parcel 263; it is part of the estate and must be distributed alongside parcel 264 in accordance with the trial court's proposed mode of distribution
The appellant pleaded and testified that the estate comprises both parcels 263 and 264, and that the trial court should distribute both. The trial court only distributed parcel 264 and excluded parcel 263 on the reasoning that the appellant had not demonstrated how the deceased acquired it. The appellate court found that the title was not in dispute between the parties and that the trial court should have declared the rights and obligations of the parties and distributed both parcels.
Distribution of land parcel number 264
The trial court's decision to distribute parcel 264 equally between the appellant and the respondent was unassailed and is upheld
The court found that the trial court's disposition of parcel 264, splitting it equally, took into account the needs of the parties, including the respondent's status as a widow with children and improvements she had made, and was reasonable. The court declined to interfere with this exercise of discretion.
Legal principles established
#- The ELC does not have jurisdiction to entertain appeals from a Succession Cause decided by a Magistrate's Court; such appeals fall outside the ELC's mandate under the Law of Succession Act
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is allowed only to the extent that the judgment delivered on 24th November, 2023 and the subsequent Certificate of Confirmation of Grant dated 15th December, 2023 be and are hereby set aside only in so far as they related to land parcel number 263
- 2.For the avoidance of doubt, land parcel number 263 is hereby included as part of the estate of the late Alfred Onyango and shall be distributed in accordance with the mode of distribution proposed by the trial court
- 3.For clarity, the total acreage of the estate, now including parcel number 263, is 1.24 Ha or 3.07 Acres
- 4.Each party to bear their own costs
- On appeal from
- Magistrates' Court at Kisii
- Succ. Cause No. 34 of 2019
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 165(2) and Section 3(1) of the Environment and Land Court Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Adpack Limited v Nyamasage (Appeal E252 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 262 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Civil Appeal E024 of 2023. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/262/eng@2025-01-31
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.