Ministry of Lands can no longer revoke titles

Harold Ayodo

Cancellation of title deeds will no longer be by the stroke of a pen at the Ministry of Lands.

The latest judgment by Justice Daniel Musinga has set precedence and changed the modus operandi on repossessing private property.

Furthermore, the new Constitution also provides for property rights and bars Parliament from enacting laws that deprive the same.

Unfortunately, application of the laws are coming out strong after the Government revoked titles for more than500 investors in the past year alone.

For decades, the Minister of Lands, Registrar of Titles and Commissioner of Lands invoked ‘powers’ to repossess private property that cost fortunes.

The top dogs mainly published a gazette notice of a list of registered property owners whose title deeds have been revoked by the State.

However, according to Lands Minister James Orengo, majority of the more than 500 titled deeds recently revoked were allocated and acquired illegally.

For instance, a private developer had allegedly grabbed property that belonged to the Judiciary before Ardhi House returned it to the rightful owner.

Among the documents that were recently cancelled included that of a tycoon who had the title of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) to his name.

Plots in mlolongo

Other affected private developers owned property running into billions of shillings on prime land in major towns countrywide.

Most of the recently recovered land belonged to the Office of the President, Ministries of Local Government and Internal Security. Others were the ministries of Tourism, Transport, Housing, National Heritage, Lands and Roads.

Currently, uncertainties are on majority that bought plots and constructed homes in Mlolongo township which, Orengo recently said were illegal.

According to Orengo, most of the residential houses sit on plots acquired by the Government to construct the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway in 1972.

Back to the precedence by Justice Musinga, revocation of a title deed can only be done by a court of law — not public officers.

He delivered the ruling in a case in which Kuria Greens Ltd sought to reverse a decision by the Registrar of Titles to revoke its title deed.

According to court records in possession of this writer, the land acquired by Kuria Greens was allegedly reserved for Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.

Due process

The private developer argued that the registrar made the decision without according them an opportunity to be heard.

Justice Musinga said the Registrar of Titles could not arbitrarily revoke title deeds without notice and following the due process of law.

According to the judge, it was wrong as the petitioner lawfully purchased the land, obtained necessary consent and invested heavily on it.

However, Justice Musinga admitted that unlawful acquisition of public property must be lawfully resisted.

Legally, aggrieved developers whose properties have been repossessed can challenge the action by the Government in court.

Consequently, courts can order the State to compensate — on market rates — investors whose titles were cancelled unconstitutionally.

However, private developers who acquired property without following the due process would be wasting time in court.