Court clears Swazuri of contempt

By KURIAN MUSA

Nairobi, Kenya: The High Court has cleared National Lands Commission (NLC) chairman Mohammed Swazuri from aspersions that he was facing contempt of court charges.

A firm had filed a case at the High Court seeking to commit a number of Lands officials to civil jail. Swazuri had been sued for contempt of court for issuing title deeds that are the subject of court proceedings.

Justice Mary Gitumbi, sitting in the Environmental and Lands Division of the High Court, dismissed the application.

“The applicant has not shown that there is a specific order of this court issued by a particular judge on a particular date which the contemners supposedly contravened,” Gitumbi said in her ruling.

She said the matter was a decision taken by a Government institution, the NLC. She pointed out that the judicial review court was handling the complaints raised and there was no point of contempt of court proceedings.

Shamji Kalyan Pindoria Limited is involved in a tussle over 10.42 hectares in Athi River valued at approximately Sh200 million. Another firm, Monglow Assets Limited, is claiming ownership of the same land and moved to the judicial review division at the High Court seeking an order to NLC to obtain a title that is in the possession of Shamji.

The court also determined that two parallel proceedings were unnecessary since Monglow Limited is in court challenging the title deed in possession of Shamji Limited.

Final resolution

Swazuri had been accused to have revoked the Shamji title, but the court held that it has jurisdiction to put the record straight through the main case still pending in the judicial review. Director of Survey Caesar Mbaria, Registrar of Titles CW Ngatia, Monglow Assets Director Samuel Watuka Muindi and James Mbaluka were also cleared of the contempt proceedings.

“Parties to this suit should focus all their effort towards obtaining a full and final resolution of this dispute through the main trial and this application should not be allowed to go on,” Justice Gitumbi said. Shamji accused Monglow of destroying its perimeter wall and guardhouse contrary to court orders requiring the parties to keep off the land.

Athi River OCS Jacob Wakhukhu is reported to have prevented Shamji Limited workers from repairing the wall. Shamji says it has since spent more than Sh100 million to develop the property. Swazuri and his colleagues, according to the application, should be penalised up to Sh7 million individually or jointly.