Now Courts Allow Citizens To Acquire Other's Idle Land In Kenya!

News & Politics
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[SIZE=7]Court Orders Man to Surrender Land He Failed to Use for Years[/SIZE]
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[li]By MUMBI MUTUKO on 20 January 2022 - 5:30 pm[/li]
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Undated file image of a gavel on the bench in the courtroom
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A Nakuru man lost ownership of a three-acre parcel of land he failed to develop for 42 years.

The Environment and Lands Court ordered the land registrar to cancel the registration of the title deed under Wilson Kimalel and hand it over to Peter Wachira.

Judge Mwangi Njoroge declared Wachira as the rightful owner adding that he was entitled to be registered as the owner of the disputed land.

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Ksh347 million Nakuru Law Courts

The court found that Wachira had occupied, cultivated and tilled the land continuously and uninterrupted for 42 years.

Wachira told the court that although the land was registered under Kimalel’s name, the defendant had never bothered him for over 42 years.

In court documents, Wachira stated that his brother had purchased the land before and after subdivision, the title was issued in the name Kimalel instead of his brother.
“After discovering that the land title had been issued in the name of the defendant, my brother lodged a caution over it,” Wachira told the court.

Justice Mwangi Njoroge ruled that Wachira had established his claim on the parcel of land and ruled in his favor…The balance of the probability favors the plaintiff (Wachira) in the case and I hereby enter judgment in his favor against the defendant (Kimalel),” Njoroge stated.

The judge stated that Wachira was entitled to be registered as the owner of the land and ordered the Land Registrar, Nakuru, to cancel the restriction registered on August 22, 2001, against the title to the land.
“The registration of title in the name of Kimalel shall be canceled and the Land Registrar shall issue title in the name of Wachira,” Justice Njoroge ordered.

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This is not a common practice but a ruling by the Environment and Land Court judge Anne Omollo directed that people can lose ownership of their land if they fail to develop the land for over 10 years.

Omollo made the ruling in a case where Abdalla Juma, a marine engineer, lost a two-acre land in Mombasa to a businessman who developed it while he was abroad.

Justice Omollo ruled that Juma bought the land in 1982 and was in possession of all original registration titles, he could not reclaim the land after it was sold and the businessman developed it.

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Adverse possession is lawful… One has to be extremely careful before allowing others to occupy their land for more than 12 years… Unless they havw been paying some rent… Even a nominal Shs. 1 per month and is in recorded provable form/ receipted… That is how it works

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What is this magical thing that happens and the end of the 12th year.

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It is the law of adverse possession… Adverse possession, otherwise referred to as squatter’s rights is a well-founded doctrine in law that allows a person who has unlawfully occupied another person’s land for a continuous period of at least 12 years to legally apply for registration rights over the property. A declaration that the title of NGANGA MUCERU KAMAU to the land parcel number LOC 2/KANGAARI/506 (suit land) has been extinguished by the Plaintiffs Adverse Possession thereof for a period of more than 12 years in terms of the Limitations of Actions Act. http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/188668

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and yet people are surprised why bodies are being found in rivers and forests or disappearing entirely

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Mimi na peasants kwa mambo ya shamba huwa sioneshani meno. Huko ushago huwa nalima shamba as if nataka kupanda just to push away peasants’ request to till a portion.

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That’s is how the law works. Atawewe ukinunua shamba na ukose kuidevelop more than 12 years or fail to show continuous interest in the lad, you will ose it. That is why Kenyataa has hundreds of thousands of acres but you can’ build event a paper kiosk on it. You have to show continuous interst in the ladnd, ata kama ni kulipisha rent ya one boob or going to take regular police notices of eviction

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Not really… one has to actually physically occupy the land and put up some structures and stay there for 12 years uninterrupted and without any written agreement or payment to the owner…

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Try come occupy land in my region. Utauliwa man

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Anywhere utauliwa… but if you manage to do that for 12 years uninterrupted, the land is yours legally

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It’s not actually 12 years, it is an extended period during which you cannot prove you have been active on the land. For example if someone went to America 2 years ago and their land has been lying idle, I could go to coulrt and state i have been utilizing the land for 12 years or more without interurption. it would be up to them to prove they were active. i could easily prove they were not by simply showing they were in america for 20 years and had no projects running on the land during that time. i do not need to have actually live there, i just need to pretend I have. There is no way to prove otherwise. i could even just be planting crops there bora tu hakuna mtu ashai niambia nitoke.

That is also why it is dangerous to employ a shamba boy without some sort of formal employmet status. Ata umeachia mtu shamba akuwe anakuchungia. They can go to court and apply that they were a squatter for over 12 years and get a portion of the land if not all of it. Usiwahi kubali ati uncle akalie shamba yako juu hauko. Put a giant fence on your land and only allow people to visit there for work purposes

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I understand it’s the Law, I’m trying to understand why after 12yrs, and not 10, 15 or any other year.

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it is the arbitrary number decided o in kenya, in some places like Israel it is around five years or lesss. Hivo ndio huwa wananyang’anya arabs blood mashamba. Mandungwa kwa dentetion camp miaka tano ukitoka unapata mtu aliapply shamba ni yake.

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No it is 12 years… https://kipkenda.co.ke/effect-of-death-of-a-registered-proprietor-on-limitations-of-action-and-the-doctrine-of-adverse-possession/

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Am telling you you don’t need to prove you have been living there 12 years, you just have to prove the other person has not been there 12 years

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Do you have any reference proving this…? You MUST occupy the land for over 12 years continuously and uninterrupted… Not proving that the owner was away… It is the claimant who has to prove this not the one who has the documents and has been away… Again, if you have any agreement or made any payment to the original owner as rent or had leased the land, this automatically invalidates your claim for adverse possession…

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weweunacheza na sheria as long as I can prove you have no been shugulikialing the land for 12 years, i don’t need to prove anything else. i can get anyone to witness I was there for those 12 years. Kwan i barua ya headman ni dakika ngapi tuchore au ata tu my neiba who is probably my close relative asem ni ukweli amekuona hapo for 12 years. It is now up to you to prove you have been there is those 12 years

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Kama unashuku if there a vacant lot close to your home where you are 100% sure no one has been there but watu hupeana stori ati mwenyewe alikuwa nani wa kina nanii. Just move in there na ujenga kibanda yako. Do not toalk to anyone, just move in na unnyamaze

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It cannot be that easy else wengi wangepoteza mashamba yao… you’ve got to show the house you put up there

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You actually don’t stop playing with people, watu wengi sana wameptoza shamba hiyo design. Just my presence on your land uniturrupted by anyone is enough for me to claim adverse possession of it. Ata kama ni nyasi nimekuwa nikikuza hapo ya kupea ng’ombe. Ayn activity on a piece of land is a claim of ownership