Kisii County Assembly Speaker Philip Nyanumba has been ordered out of a contested parcel of land in Kisii Municipality after the conclusion of land grabbing ligation that had been running in the High Court since 2014.
A High Court judge sitting in Milimani, Nairobi consequently invalidated the land title deed he had floated to assert credibility of ownership.
The ruling Thursday handed victory to John Nyaanga, the litigant who has been a long-time occupant and intended beneficiary of the land through the National Housing Corporation (NHC).
The court objected to the copy of the title deed Nyanumba had adduced before it as evidence of ownership.
The purported title deed could actually not be traced to any authentic land records, the court observed in the ruling.
Nyanumba was hard pressed to explain how he had acquired the fake title he was brandishing as authentic.
The court pointed out possible irregularities to it’s procurement.
Key to the court’s findings was the disclosure that the official named in the impugned title deed — a one Mr. Gacanja — was not a Land Registrar at the time the document was purportedly issued and this cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of the document.
“The court is not satisfied that the Plaintiff held a valid title. The land was under the custody of the National Housing Corporation, and the process of issuing a formal title to the Defendant was already underway,” the judge ruled.
Evidence submitted by the Land Administration Office and a NHC official, the land had been earmarked for transfer to Nyaanga, who had been occupying the property since 1977 after allocation by the now-defunct Kisii Town Council on behalf of NHC.
The court declared Nyaanga the lawful owner of the suit property — parcel LR No. KISII MUNICIPALITY/BLOCK 1/492.
Consequently, Nyanumba is required to move out within 30 days.
Any structures erected by the plaintiff must also be removed or demolished within that period.
The court further issued a permanent injunction restraining Nyanumba from collecting rent from the property.
It also directed the Deputy Registrar to notify ABSA Bank that the land cannot be used as collateral, owing to the invalidity of the plaintiff’s title.
The embattled speaker was further required to pay legal costs jointly.
The land dispute dates back to 2014 when Nyanumba filed a suit seeking a permanent injunction to bar Nyaanga from accessing or interfering with the property and sought general damages for alleged trespass and demolition.
Nyaanga, through his lawyer Omaiyo Mogaka, argued that he had been in uninterrupted possession of the property for decades before being forcibly evicted by Nyanumba in 2014.
He claimed the Nyanumba illegally took over the land, destroyed the perimeter fence, and erected his own structures.
While testifying in court, Nyaanga challenged the validity of the plaintiff’s title deed
He said it could not be found in official records and had been fraudulently obtained.
“I was allocated Plot No. 58, now known as Parcel 492, and paid Sh760.
“Although I no longer have the receipt, the process would not have advanced without payment,” he told the court during cross-examination.