In re SOK (Minor)

4. The Applicant states that upon completion of the purchase and processing of the title in or about October 2024, she caused the property to be registered jointly in her name and in the names of her two children, Venus Wanjiru Mbuthia and Sydney O’Neil Kaguoma Mbuthia. At the time of registration, both children were minors. She explains that the decision to register the property jointly was intended to secure and preserve her children's benecial interests in the property and ensure that they would benet from it. 5. The Applicant further states that Venus has since attained the age of majority and is presently aged 20 years, whereas Sydney, who was born on 5th September 2009, is presently 16 years old and remains a minor. The Applicant has exhibited copies of the title deed, search certicate and birth certicates in support of her averments. 6. It is the Applicant's further case that she is married to Marcus Mbuthia Gatimu, the father of her two children. Together, they have substantially developed the suit property by constructing a threestorey building comprising eighteen (18) self-contained guest rooms. According to the Applicant, the development is approximately 85% complete, with only the remaining works and nishing required before the guest rooms can commence operations. 7. The Applicant states that upon completion, the eighteen guest rooms are expected to generate approximately Kshs.2,000/= per room per day, subject to occupancy and operating expenses. She therefore maintains that completing the development would enable the property to generate income, increase its value and enhance its economic utility for the benet of all the registered proprietors, including the minor. 8. The Applicant further avers that her husband applied for and obtained approval for a Kshs.6,000,000/ = loan facility from Biblia Regulated Non-WDT Sacco Society Limited. The facility is intended specically to nance the remaining works necessary to complete the development on the suit property. The proposed loan is to be secured by a charge over Title No Bukhayo/Mundika/11036, in which the minor, Sydney O’Neil Kaguoma Mbuthia, is a registered proprietor. 9. The loan oer dated 3rd August 2026 conrms that the approved facility is Kshs.6,000,000/= and that its purpose is to complete the property on Title No Bukhayo/Mundika/11036. The property is proposed as collateral, with a rst legal charge to be registered over it until the loan is fully repaid. The facility is stated to be repayable over 72 monthly instalments of Kshs.130,445/=, commencing in September 2026 and running until September 2032. 10. The Applicant maintains that the proposed borrowing is directly connected to the improvement and productive utilization of the suit property and is not intended for personal expenditure or any purpose unrelated to the property. She therefore contends that completion of the development would transform the substantially completed but presently non-income-generating property into a productive income-generating asset, thereby enhancing its value and providing an additional source of income to the family. 11. The Applicant also states that her husband is employed by Greentop Logistics Limited Kenya and earns a gross monthly salary of approximately Kshs.405,000/=. She asserts that he is nancially capable of servicing the proposed loan from his employment income, supplemented by income from his other business ventures and the anticipated income from the completed development. The Applicant herself is employed by Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited, which she relies upon as an additional source of nancial stability for the household. 12. The Applicant has also placed before the Court a valuation report which, according to her, demonstrates the value of the suit property and the adequacy of the proposed security. She https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/5583/eng@2026-09-23 2

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consequently maintains that the proposed charge is commercially reasonable and prudent and that the completion of the development would be benecial to the minor as it would increase the value of his interest in the property and enable the property to generate income. 13. The Applicant's husband, Marcus Mbuthia Gatimu, swore an adavit in support of the application. He conrms that he is the Applicant's husband and the father of Venus and Sydney. He corroborates the Applicant's account regarding the acquisition of the property from Anjela Makokha Kona, its subsequent subdivision and registration as Title No Bukhayo/Mundika/11036, as well as its subsequent joint registration in the names of the Applicant and the two children. 14. Marcus conrms that he applied for and obtained approval from Biblia Regulated Non-WDT Sacco Society Limited for the Kshs.6,000,000/= loan facility. He states that the specic purpose of the facility is to nance the remaining works required to complete the development on the suit property and make it productive. He similarly states that the completed eighteen guest rooms are expected to generate approximately Kshs.2,000/= per room per day, subject to occupancy and operating expenses. 15. Marcus further deposes that he is employed by Greentop Logistics Limited Kenya and earns a gross monthly salary of approximately Kshs.405,000/=. He states that he is nancially capable of servicing the loan from his employment income, supplemented by income from his other business ventures and the expected income from the completed development. He also undertakes to ensure that the loan proceeds are applied towards completion of the development on the property. 16. He acknowledges that because Sydney is a minor and is a registered proprietor of the suit property, leave of the Court is required before the property can be charged. He consequently supports the Applicant's request for leave and maintains that completion of the development would promote the interests of Sydney and the other registered proprietors by increasing the value of the property and enabling it to generate income. 17. Venus Wanjiru Mbuthia, the Applicant's daughter and one of the registered proprietors of the suit property, also swore an adavit and consented to the proposed transaction. She conrms that her mother purchased the property in or about 2016 and that, following completion of the purchase and processing of the title, the property was registered jointly in the names of her mother, herself and her brother Sydney, who were both minors at the time. 18. Venus conrms that her father obtained approval for the Kshs.6,000,000/= loan facility from Biblia Regulated Non-WDT Sacco Society Limited and that the facility is intended to nance the remaining works necessary to complete the development on the property, which is approximately 85% complete. She states that the development comprises a three-storey building containing eighteen self-contained guest rooms and that its completion will enable the property to be put into productive use and generate income. 19. She further conrms that her father is employed by Greentop Logistics Limited Kenya and earns approximately Kshs.405,000/= gross per month, from which he intends to service the loan facility. Most importantly, Venus expressly states that she has no objection whatsoever to the proposed charge being created and registered over Title No Bukhayo/Mundika/11036 in favour of Biblia Regulated Non-WDT Sacco Society Limited. 20. Venus also expresses the view that completing the development and putting the property into productive use would promote the interests of her minor brother, Sydney, and all the registered proprietors by increasing the value of the property and enabling it to generate income. She states that her adavit and consent were made freely and voluntarily and without coercion, undue inuence or misrepresentation. https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/5583/eng@2026-09-23 3

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21. Overall, the Applicant's evidence is that the suit property is jointly owned by the Applicant and her two children, one of whom remains a minor; that the property has been substantially developed but remains incomplete; that the proposed Kshs.6,000,000/= facility is specically intended to nance completion of the development; and that the Applicant, her husband and their adult daughter consider the proposed charge to be benecial to the minor because completion of the development is expected to enhance the property's value and enable it to generate income. Analysis and Determination 22. I have carefully considered the Originating Summons dated 24th August 2026, its Supporting Adavit sworn on the even date, together with the annexures thereon, and the only issue that arises for determination is whether the Applicant has satised the requirements for leave to charge Title No. Bukhayo/Mundika/11036, in which a minor is a registered proprietor, as security for the Kshs. 6,000,000/= loan facility. 23. The Court has considered the Originating Summons, the adavits in support thereof, the documents annexed thereto and the applicable law. Section 27 of the Land Act recognizes that a child may hold land through a trustee, while section 47(1) and (2) of the Land Registration Act, 2012 permits the registration of a minor’s interest in land but expressly restricts the minor from dealing with such interest. Section 48(3) of the same Act permits a guardian of a person under legal incapacity to act on behalf of such person, subject to the requirements of the law. 24. The Court is also guided by sections 17 and 56 of the Trustee Act, Cap. 167, which empower a trustee, in appropriate circumstances, to raise money by way of mortgage over trust property and empower the Court to confer upon a trustee the necessary power to mortgage or otherwise deal with trust property where such transaction is expedient. This statutory framework must, however, be considered alongside Article 53(2) of the Constitution, which makes the best interests of the child the paramount consideration in every matter concerning the child. 25. In In re MLM (Minor) [2025] KEELC 3848 (KLR), the Environment and Land Court, faced with a substantially similar application for leave to charge property held in trust for a minor, considered sections 27 of the Land Act, 47 of the Land Registration Act and sections 17 and 56 of the Trustee Act. The Court granted leave after being satised that the proposed charge was connected to the development of the property and was in the best interests of the minor. “ In this case, the Applicant intends to charge the land in order to secure a loan for the construction of a home for the benet of the minor. Both trustees are in agreement and have given the assurance that the loan funds will be used for the construction of a family home, thereby enhancing the welfare of the child. The Applicant has also provided evidence that she has an income. The court is also guided by Article 53(2) of the Constitution of Kenya, which stipulates that a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child. Taking all the above into consideration, the court is satised that the application is made in the best interest of the minor and allows the application dated 19/9/2024. The court makes no order as to costs.” 26. In the present case, the evidence demonstrates that Title No Bukhayo/Mundika/11036 is jointly registered in the names of the Applicant, the adult proprietor Venus Wanjiru Mbuthia and the minor Sydney O’Neil Kaguoma Mbuthia. The proposed Kshs.6,000,000/= facility is specically intended to nance the completion of the three-storey development comprising eighteen self-contained guest https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/5583/eng@2026-09-23 4

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rooms, which is already approximately 85% complete. The loan oer conrms that the facility is secured against the suit property and is intended to complete the development thereon. 27. The Court further notes that the adult co-proprietor, Venus Wanjiru Mbuthia, has expressly consented to the proposed charge, while the Applicant and her husband have deponed that the completion of the development will enhance the value of the property and enable it to generate income for the benet of the registered proprietors, including the minor. The husband has also demonstrated a source of income from which the loan is intended to be serviced. 28. In the circumstances, the Court is satised that the proposed transaction is not a disposition intended to deprive the minor of his interest in the property, but rather a transaction aimed at completing and putting the property into productive use. The Court therefore nds that the proposed charge is expedient and, on the evidence before it, is in the best interests of the minor. Guided by the decision in In re MLM (Minor), the Court nds merit in the application and grants the leave sought. Final Disposition and Orders 29. 30. In the result, the Originating Summons dated 24th August 2026 is hereby allowed in the following terms: a. The Applicant is granted leave to charge Title No. Bukhayo/Mundika/11036 in favour of Biblia Regulated Non-WDT Sacco Society Limited as security for the loan facility of Kshs.6,000,000/= advanced to Marcus Mbuthia Gatimu. b. The Busia Land Registrar is hereby authorized and/or directed to register the charge over Title No. Bukhayo/Mundika/11036 in favour of Biblia Regulated Non-WDT Sacco Society Limited for the sum of Kshs.6,000,000/=, subject to compliance with the applicable statutory requirements. c. The Applicant is granted leave and authority to execute and undertake all such acts, applications, consents, registrations and other formalities as may be necessary for the creation, perfection and registration of the said charge. d. The court makes no order as to costs Orders accordingly. RULING DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED IN OPEN COURT ON THIS 23RD DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2026. C. MUGAMBI JUDGE https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/5583/eng@2026-09-23 5

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