[2010] KEHC 3740 (KLR)
The court found that the Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal acted without jurisdiction in determining a dispute involving land registered under the Registered Land Act. The tribunal's statutory jurisdiction is limited to trespass, occupation, or boundaries of land held under customary law, and does not extend to...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2010] KEHC 3740 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Republic; Respondent: Chairman Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal; Interested Party: Gabriel Wapangana Kibiti; Applicant: Patrick Wanyonyi Wakhungu; Applicant: Stephen Kunania Wakhungu
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Bungoma
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Miscellaneous Civil Application 103 of 2009
- Procedural Posture
- Miscellaneous Application / Ruling
- Outcome
- Application allowed. Award of Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal quashed.
- Judges
- FN Muchemi
- Legal Topics
- Judicial Review, Jurisdiction of Tribunals, Registered Land, Succession and Estates
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
More case intelligence is available
Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.
Parties
Republic
Applicant
Chairman Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal
Respondent
Gabriel Wapangana Kibiti
Interested Party
Patrick Wanyonyi Wakhungu
Applicant
Stephen Kunania Wakhungu
Applicant
Procedural Posture
Miscellaneous Application / Ruling
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal had jurisdiction to determine disputes relating to registered land.
- 2 Whether the tribunal's award concerning land registered under the Registered Land Act was null and void for want of jurisdiction.
- 3 Whether the dispute should have been filed as a succession cause for distribution of the deceased's estate.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal acted without jurisdiction in determining a dispute involving land registered under the Registered Land Act. The tribunal's statutory jurisdiction is limited to trespass, occupation, or boundaries of land held under customary law, and does not extend to registered land. Furthermore, since the land belonged to a deceased person, any dispute regarding its distribution should have been addressed through a succession cause in the appropriate court. The tribunal's award, which purported to allocate a portion of the deceased's registered land and directed the family to file a succession cause, was therefore null and void for want of...
Court Disposition
Application allowed. Award of Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal quashed.
Orders
- The award of Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal in dispute no.42 of 2008, adopted as judgment in Bungoma Chief Magistrate Court LDT No.33 of 2008, is removed into this court and quashed.
- The costs of these proceedings to be borne by the Interested Party.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
30 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA
AT BUNGOMA
Miscellaneous Civil Application 103 of 2009
IN THE MATTER OF THE LAW OF REFORM ACT CAP 26 LAWS OF KENYA
AND
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY PATRICK WANYONYI WAKHUNGU AND STEPHEN KUNANIA WAKHUNGU FOR ORDERS OF JUDICIAL REVIEW
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE LAND DISPUTES TRIBUNAL ACT NO. 18 OF 1990
AND
REPUBLIC……………………………………..…………………………APPLICANT
~VRS~
THE CHAIRMAN BUNGOMA LAND DISPUTES TRIBUNAL…RESPONDENT
GABRIEL WAPANGANA KIBITI………………………….INTERESTED PARTY
AND
PATRICK WANYONYI
STEPHEN KUNUNIA WAKHUNGU……………………EXPARTE APPLICANTS
RULING
The Ex-parte Applicants Patrick Wanyonyi and Stephen Kunania Wakhungu pray for orders of certiorari to remove into this honourable court and quash the decision of Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal in dispute no.42 of 2008 which was adopted as judgment by Bungoma Chief Magistrate Court in LDT No.33 of 2008. It also prays for the costs of the application.
The grounds relied on are that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to arbitrate upon the dispute. The Land Bokoli/Mukuyuni/1487 was registered under the Registered Land Act and belonged to the Respondent and the Interested Party were served but did not file any response to the application. The application was therefore unopposed for all intents and purposes.
The jurisdiction of the tribunal is provided for under section 3 (1) of the Land Disputes Tribunal Act which includes the following:
a)trespass to land,
b)claim to occupy or work land,
c)determination of boundaries of land held under customary law.
The tribunal has no jurisdiction to arbitrate on nay dispute relating to registered land. The Applicant herein has annexed a copy of title to show that the land is registered under Cap 300, Laws of Kenya. The land belonged to a deceased person Ibrahim Wakhungu Kunania. For those two reasons the tribunal acted without jurisdiction. The matter was supposed to be filed in court as a succession cause for distribution of the estate of the deceased.
The tribunal awarded the Interested Party a portion of the deceased’s land and directed the family of the deceased to file a Succession Cause within one calendar year. The orders of the tribunal were null and void for lack of jurisdiction. The award of the tribunal was therefore a nullity.
I find that the application has merit. I hereby remove into this court the award of Bungoma Land Disputes Tribunal into this court and quash it accordingly. The costs of these proceedings to be borne by the Interested Party.
F. N. MUCHEMI
JUDGE
Dated, Delivered and Signed at Bungoma this 9thday of February, 2010. In the absence of the parties.