Appeals court halts eviction of 1,000 families in Kanyotu land row

The Court of Appeal has halted the eviction of more than 1,000 families from a disputed 506-acre parcel in Ruiru, Kiambu county.

The estate is linked to former intelligence chief James Kanyotu.

In a ruling delivered on February 6, the appellate court granted a stay of execution of a judgment issued by the Environment and Land Court (ELC).

The judgment had ordered cancellation of all subdivided titles and directed occupants to vacate the land within 120 days or face eviction.

The dispute revolves around LR No 11261/76 (IR 88741), originally owned by Kangaita Coffee Estates Limited, a company in which Kanyotu was a shareholder and director.

Following his death in 2008, succession proceedings were instituted to administer his estate.

During the pendency of the succession cause, court orders were issued barring any sale, lease, transfer or other dealings in the property.

However, in 2012, court records show the land was sold to Trendsetters Investments Limited for Sh700 million.

It was later sold in 2014 to Marriot Africa International Limited for Sh750 million.

The land was subsequently subdivided and sold to hundreds of buyers, many of whom developed permanent homes, schools and social amenities on their plots.

In July last year, the ELC found that the sales and subsequent subdivisions were conducted in violation of the succession court orders.

The Environment and Land Court declared that the Sh10 billion 500-acre property remains part of the estate of Kangaita Coffee Estate Limited, where Kanyotu was the majority shareholder.

Aggrieved by that decision, Marriot Africa International Limited and hundreds of purchasers moved to the Court of Appeal.

"Following the judgment, the applicant (Marriot) filed a notice of appeal and the present application seeking to stay the execution of the decree, and to have the respondents injuncted pending its intended appeal to this court," the judgment states.

They argued that they were innocent purchasers for value without notice of any encumbrances and that eviction would cause immense loss, including destruction of more than 1,000 homes and other public facilities.

The appellate court found that the intended appeal was arguable, particularly on the question of whether the buyers were bona fide purchasers without notice of the succession dispute.

The judges also held that unless stay orders were granted, the appeal would be rendered of little value given the scale of development on the land and the number of families at risk of displacement.

The court further observed that the Land Registrar appeared to be moving with haste to implement the ELC decree, including initiating cancellation of titles before the lapse of timelines set by the trial court.

"It was clear to us that the 1st and 4th respondents are in a great hurry to execute the decree that followed the judgment, and that is why the 4th respondent (chief land registrar) could not wait for the 90 days given in the judgment for the surrender of the title documents before he went ahead and cancelled the title documents," the judges said.

Pending the hearing and determination of the appeal, the Court of Appeal ordered that the respondents, including Kangaita Coffee Estates Limited and the Chief Land Registrar, shall not evict the occupants or interfere with their peaceful possession of the property or its subdivisions.

Costs of the application will abide the outcome of the appeal.

The ruling offers temporary reprieve to hundreds of families who had faced the prospect of losing their homes in one of the most high-profile land disputes linked to the Kanyotu estate.