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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2021 |
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20 December 2021 |
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20 December 2021 |
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20 December 2021 |
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15 December 2021 |
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14 December 2021 |
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Title issued over land gazetted as central forest reserve is void; NFA lawfully managed and evicted occupants; trespass and conversion claims dismissed.
• Forest law – land gazetted as central forest reserve – effect on subsequent private title issuance • Validity of certificate of title obtained over land that was part of a gazetted reserve • National Forestry Authority’s statutory mandate to manage central forest reserves and lawfulness of eviction • Trespass and possession – requirement of legal interest • Malicious damage/conversion – need for direct evidence and proof of agency/vicarious liability
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13 December 2021 |
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Forgery of the sale memorandum nullified the transfer; property declared abandoned and reverts to the Departed Asians Custodian Board.
Land law – Alleged sale of departed Asians’ land – Forensic document analysis finds memorandum of sale forged – No lawful acquisition; Expropriated Properties Act applies – Cancellation of title by Registrar irregular but reinstatement refused to avoid perpetuating fraud – Beneficiary claims failed where NIRA records and evidence not rebutted.
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7 December 2021 |
| November 2021 |
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Applicants granted interlocutory mandatory and prohibitory injunctions to protect possession pending title dispute resolution.
Interlocutory mandatory and prohibitory injunctions — requirements: prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience; protection of registered proprietor’s possession pending determination of title dispute; applications under O.41 r.1, Section 98 Civil Procedure Act and Section 33 Judicature Act.
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26 November 2021 |
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High Court set aside Registrar’s contempt decision for lack of jurisdiction and reinstated the matter for judge’s hearing.
Civil procedure — Review under section 82 CPA and Order 46 CPR; powers of Registrars under Order 50 CPR; jurisdictional limits — Registrars lack power to try contempt proceedings arising out of court; error apparent on face of record — mediation then hearing contrary to Mediation Rules; curable formal defects in affidavits.
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25 November 2021 |
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24 November 2021 |
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Appellants failed to prove customary tenancy; unchallenged leasehold evidence upheld and appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – customary tenancy in urban areas – requirement to apply to prescribed authorities and obtain approval pre-1998; Pleadings – parties are bound by pleadings; Court will not grant unpleaded relief; Evidence – owner’s lease and municipal inspection corroboration; Procedure – expunging evidence where defendant fails to file statement of defence.
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23 November 2021 |
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15 November 2021 |
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Plaintiff entitled to general damages and costs for defendant’s six‑year wrongful retention of her certificate of title.
Property law – wrongful retention of certificate of title; entitlement to general damages for deprivation of use; assessment of quantum for inconvenience and economic loss; award of costs for dilatory conduct.
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12 November 2021 |
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12 November 2021 |
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Court granted temporary injunction restraining respondent from transferring estate land pending trial due to prima facie fraud and irreparable harm.
* Temporary injunctions – preservation of status quo pending trial – principles: prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience. * Administration of estate – allegations of forged certificate of no objection and wrongful procurement of letters of administration. * Registered land – risk of transfers creating third‑party interests and depleting estate.
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12 November 2021 |
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12 November 2021 |
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12 November 2021 |
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Administrators are entitled to certified copies of titles for subdivided land to enable proper estate administration.
* Succession Act – administrators' rights and duties (ss.192, 279) – entitlement to obtain property particulars for estate administration
* Civil Procedure Act s.98 – court's power to make orders necessary for the ends of justice
* Land registration – issuance of certified copies of titles following subdivision to facilitate estate administration
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12 November 2021 |
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Cancellation of a land title without required notice and hearing breached natural justice and was quashed; title reinstated and costs awarded.
Land law; Judicial review – procedural impropriety and natural justice; Section 91 Land Act – notice and hearing requirements for cancellation of title; Remedies – certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, injunction; Unopposed affidavit evidence treated as admitted.
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12 November 2021 |
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11 November 2021 |
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Court held statutory forest reserve rights override private titles; no trespass by forest authority.
* Land law – Forest reserves – Effect of Gazette/Statutory Instrument declaring a forest reserve – Gazettement/degazettement processes and finality of Commissioner of Lands' opinion.
* Conflict of interests – Certificates of title vs public/state-held forest land – when public interest and statutory forest rights subordinate private titles.
* Possessory remedies – Trespass – lawfulness of entry by forest authority under National Forestry and Tree Planting Act.
* Procedure – Court-appointed expert and locus in quo evidence.
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10 November 2021 |
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Appellant’s boundary claim rejected; respondent owns disputed unregistered land and appellant held liable for trespass.
Land law – unregistered land – boundary disputes; evidential value of locus in quo sketch and vendor testimony; ownership by oral and identification evidence; trespass – elements and application.
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9 November 2021 |
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A suit commenced in a company’s name without proper board or corporate authority is incompetent and must be dismissed.
* Company law – Authority to litigate – Necessity of directors’ resolution or clear company authorisation before instituting suit.
* Powers of attorney – Limits – POAs by single director or some shareholders do not necessarily bind the company without corporate authorisation.
* Civil procedure – Incompetent suit – Suit instituted without company authority is unmaintainable and dismissed.
* Costs – Costs may be awarded against the person who improperly instituted suit in the company’s name.
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9 November 2021 |
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Defendant’s equitable interest from bibanja occupancy (with proprietor’s consent) precludes finding of trespass; plaintiff’s eviction claim dismissed.
Land law – trespass v. lawful occupancy; surveyor licensing and admissibility of survey reports; effect of equitable interests acquired from bibanja with consent of registered proprietor; security of tenure under Land Act (ss.29,31,34).
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8 November 2021 |
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A judgment delivered by a magistrate after forced retirement is a nullity and requires retrial before a competent magistrate.
* Administrative law – judicial discipline – effect of judicial retirement on jurisdiction to deliver judgment; * Civil procedure – jurisdiction of the court – judgments delivered without judicial authority are nullities; * Illegality – principle that an illegality vitiates proceedings; * Remedy – striking out void judgment and ordering retrial before competent magistrate; * Magistrates’ jurisdiction – relevance of Magistrates Courts Act s.5 and judicial service commission decisions.
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8 November 2021 |
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5 November 2021 |
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5 November 2021 |
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Registered proprietor’s application to remove a caveat dismissed pending proof an earlier appellate judgment favouring caveator was set aside.
Caveat – validity contingent on protectable legal or equitable interest and reasonable cause; Registered proprietor’s title versus caveator’s claim; Effect of prior judgments/appeals on caveat disputes; Burden to disclose material prior litigation and to produce documentary proof to overturn caveat.
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5 November 2021 |
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5 November 2021 |
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5 November 2021 |
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5 November 2021 |
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Whether dismissal for lack of prosecution bars re-litigation and whether continuing trespass is time‑barred.
* Civil procedure — res judicata — dismissal for lack of prosecution set aside under O.9 r.23; subsequent magistrate may reinstate under inherent jurisdiction.
* Limitation — tort of trespass to land is continuing; action not time‑barred while occupation continues.
* Land law — ss.29 and 35 Land Act 1998 inapplicable where dispute is between competing kibanja interests, not between registered owner and bona fide occupant.
* First appeal — appellate court entitled to reappraise evidence and make its own findings on fact and law.
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4 November 2021 |
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Application to admit fresh evidence on appeal refused for lack of due diligence, irrelevance and inordinate delay.
* Civil procedure — Additional evidence on appeal — Exceptional circumstances required — criteria: due diligence, relevance, credibility, probable influence, proof, absence of undue delay.
* Evidence — Documents obtainable from public offices/local authorities/hospitals are not ‘‘new’’ if not shown to be inaccessible at trial.
* Land law — Third-party title evidence that was not pleaded and would alter the case is irrelevant on appeal and cannot be admitted.
* Procedural fairness — Undue delay and potential abuse of process justify refusal to admit additional evidence.
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3 November 2021 |
| October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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28 October 2021 |
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Court found error in dismissing the land suit under Section 91 and held the fraud allegations required trial review.
Land law — review of decision — error apparent on the face of the record — Section 82 Civil Procedure Act, Order 46 CPR; Land Act s.91 — distinction between appealable decisions and causes of action in fraud; pleading fraud — requirement for particulars and ability to cure by amendment; omnibus suits challenging both cancellation and acquisition of title.
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28 October 2021 |
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21 October 2021 |
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20 October 2021 |
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20 October 2021 |
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8 October 2021 |
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1 October 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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30 September 2021 |
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29 September 2021 |
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29 September 2021 |
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27 September 2021 |