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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2024 |
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31 October 2024 |
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A litigant's failure to diligently follow up with counsel does not justify setting aside an ex parte judgment for alleged advocate negligence.
Civil Procedure – Setting aside ex parte judgment – Service of hearing notices – Sufficient cause – Responsibility of litigant to follow up on case – Negligence of counsel versus dilatory conduct
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31 October 2024 |
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31 October 2024 |
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Application to add the Attorney General as defendant and amend the plaint granted to resolve competing state interest in land.
Land — Joinder of necessary parties — Whether Attorney General should be added where state institution (police) claims interest in land by adverse possession/prescription; Amendment of plaint — Order 6 r.19, Section 100 CPA — Amendments allowed to determine real issues and avoid multiplicity; Attorney General as representative of public institutions; No prejudice or mala fides shown.
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30 October 2024 |
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30 October 2024 |
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A long-abandoned, unproven Kibanja cannot defeat a later bona fide registered proprietor; injunction and caveat uplift ordered.
Land law – Kibanja – equitable user rights and lawful occupant status; burden of proof for Kibanja; effect and priority of certificate of title; bona fide purchaser for value; trespass; remedies – injunction and upliftment of caveat; dismissal of unproven counterclaim.
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29 October 2024 |
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29 October 2024 |
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29 October 2024 |
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Plaintiffs’ fraud claim was time-barred and they failed to prove a gift inter vivos; the registered transfer to the 2nd defendant was lawful.
Land law – gift inter vivos – formalities and proof; limitation of actions – discovery rule for fraud (Limitation Act s.25); registered transfer and validity of transfer instruments; fraud – standard of proof; caveat – temporary protection and vacatur.
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25 October 2024 |
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25 October 2024 |
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Filing a fresh amendment application to evade a pending preliminary objection constitutes an abuse of court process.
Civil procedure – preliminary objection – application granted as unopposed under Order 6 Rule 29 CPR. Civil procedure – amendment of pleadings – filing fresh amendment application while ordered to reply constitutes abuse of process. Abuse of process – section 17(2) Judicature Act Cap 16 – delays and procedural defeat. Procedural compliance – failure to reply to pending application can result in rejection of subsequent applications
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23 October 2024 |
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Court granted unopposed preliminary objection and rejected amendment application as abuse of court process and delay.
Civil procedure – Preliminary objection to counterclaim – Unopposed application – Order 6 Rule 29 CPR; Abuse of court process – filing fresh application to evade pending objection – s.17(2) Judicature Act Cap 16; Amendment of pleadings – application to add a party rejected as delay tactic.
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23 October 2024 |
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Court substituted the respondent as limited legal representative and ordered eviction for any land exceeding the 0.15-acre kibanja interest.
Civil procedure – substitution of deceased judgment debtor – Section 37 Civil Procedure Act; limited letters of administration under Section 222 Succession Act
Enforcement – consequential orders to give effect to declaratory judgment and permanent injunction; eviction for land in excess of decreed kibanja interest. Civil procedure – discretion to admit late affidavits under Section 98 where no prejudice and in interests of justice
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22 October 2024 |
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Appeal upheld limitation dismissal of land recovery suit; counterclaim remitted to trial court for hearing.
Land law – Limitation Act s.5 – accrual of cause of action for trespass when adverse occupation begins; delay bars recovery after 12 years
Pleadings – plaint disclosing cause of action – frivolous and vexatious suits. Civil procedure – counterclaim as cross-action under Order 8 – counterclaim may be proceeded with despite dismissal of main suit; remit for trial of counterclaim
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21 October 2024 |
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Succession Law – Administrator Pendente Lite – Pending Suit – Letters of Administration – Amendment of Pleadings – Estate Representation – Land Ownership Dispute –Proper Jurisdiction
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18 October 2024 |
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Seller must prove capacity and owner consent to sell Kabaka land; absence renders the sale unenforceable.
Land law – sale of Kabaka (kibanja) land – seller’s capacity and consent of registered owner required for enforceable sale. Contract law – certainty of subject matter and proof of protectable interest necessary to enforce land sale. Possessory remedies – trespass requires proof of actual/exclusive possession or protectable possessory interest
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17 October 2024 |
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Applicants with letters of administration successfully substituted as plaintiffs after original plaintiff’s death in a pending land suit.
Civil Procedure – Substitution of parties – Death of plaintiff – Administrators with letters of administration – Amendment of pleadings – Order 24 of Civil Procedure Rules.
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17 October 2024 |
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17 October 2024 |
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Whether a fraudulently procured registered title may be cancelled and damages awarded to the rightful beneficiary.
Land law – Fraudulently procured transfer and duplicate certificate of title – Registrar’s duty to verify documents and protect register integrity – Cancellation and rectification of title – Trespass and malicious damage – Remedies: declarations, injunctions, possession and damages.
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16 October 2024 |
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15 October 2024 |
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Applicants granted leave to file a representative suit despite absence of proposed plaint as respondent filed no affidavit in reply.
Civil procedure – representative suits – conditions for commencement – requirement of proposed plaint – effect of procedural defects in absence of reply – Order 1 rule 8 Civil Procedure Rules – section 37 Judicature Act invoked to advance interests of justice.
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14 October 2024 |
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A 1988 gift deed was valid, administrators lawfully leased the gifted land, and the lease’s conversion clause was not a disguised sale.
Succession and land law – valid gift inter vivos of registered land; administrators’ powers and duties; validity of lease entered by administrators; conversion clause (citizenship) not a disguised sale; fraud and notice in land transactions.
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11 October 2024 |
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An administrator’s failure to distribute estate land per inventory amounts to breach of trust and fraud, entitling beneficiaries to surrender or compensation.
Succession law – administrators’ duties – requirement to exhibit true and full inventory and to distribute estate per inventory/consent. Trusteeship and breach of trust – administrator’s duty to account; failure to surrender estate assets. Fraud in estate administration – false representation/unauthorised disposal and consequences
Remedies – specific performance (surrender), cancellation/transfer powers under Land Act/Registrar, alternative monetary compensation, general damages and interest. Civil procedure – consequence of defendant’s non-attendance at trial (deemed admission of allegations)
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11 October 2024 |
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11 October 2024 |
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10 October 2024 |
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8 October 2024 |
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Registrar exceeded jurisdiction in contempt proceedings; resultant ruling set aside and each party to bear own costs.
Civil procedure — Registrar’s jurisdiction — Contempt of court — Limits of Order 50 powers — Contempt in the face of court vs. non-in-the-face contempt — Registrar cannot grant permanent injunctions, damages or committal beyond conferred powers — Ruling set aside for want of jurisdiction.
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7 October 2024 |
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An application to set aside a consent judgment must be placed before the Assistant Registrar where the consent was allegedly entered.
Civil procedure – Consent judgment – Application to set aside – Proper forum – Sufficiency of supporting evidence – Right to be heard
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4 October 2024 |
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Court upheld a limited temporary injunction to preserve land status quo, rejecting broader injunctive relief and procedural objections.
Civil Procedure – Temporary injunction – Status quo maintenance – Possession of land – Appellate procedure – Procedural requirements for lodging appeals – Balance of convenience – Irreparable injury.
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4 October 2024 |
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Registered title is conclusive absent proved fraud; defendants' fraud-based counterclaim dismissed and plaintiffs awarded possession and damages.
Land law – Registered title – Certificate of title under the Registration of Titles Act is conclusive evidence of ownership absent proven fraud
Limitation – Claim to cancel long‑standing registration barred under the Limitation Act; fraud exception must be pleaded and proved
Evidence – Fraud must be strictly proved and attributable to the transferee; circumstantial proof may suffice but was absent here
Remedies – Declaration of title, permanent injunction, vacant possession, general damages, interest and costs
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2 October 2024 |
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Application to strike out plaint for lack of cause of action dismissed; fraud claim and advocate’s affidavit held fit for trial.
Land — Pleadings — Cause of action — Order 7 r11 (strike out) — Fraud claim permissible; advocates’ affidavits — Regulation 9 exceptions — Affidavit by counsel competent where within personal/legal knowledge; Civil Procedure — Order 7 r14 (documents annexed) — failure to attach may be cured by other annexures; Evidence — admissibility and translation of annexures for trial.
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2 October 2024 |
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Kibanja belonged to intestate ancestor; sale by persons without authority was illegal and purchaser gained no title.
Land law – intestate succession and devolution – absence of letters of administration; customary inheritance – burden to prove customary devolution; intermeddling with an intestate estate – illegal sale of kibanja; bona fide purchaser defence not available for unregistered (kibanja) holding; remedies – declaration of ownership, declaration of illegality, damages and costs.
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2 October 2024 |
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A prior final judgment stripping purported vendors of authority bars a subsequent suit by res judicata.
Civil procedure — Res judicata — Matter directly and substantially in issue in a former suit finally decided — Parties and those claiming under them bound by prior determination; effect on claims to registered land and sale agreements.
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1 October 2024 |