Stalled land dispute case kicks off, 37 years later

By WILLIS OKETCH

Mombasa, Kenya: A case that has stalled in a Mombasa court for 37 years has finally kicked off after a retired assistant chief suspected to have been frustrating its conclusion was charged with forging court proceedings in his favor.

The case involves two families; Madzayo Mangale Vs Mumba Chome, locked in a land dispute since 1977.

The case has previously been presided by two separate magistrates’ court that ruled differently in favour of both. The retired chief, Andrew Mwinzangu, belongs to the Madzayo Mangale family.

The first magistrate ruled in favour of the assistant chief’s family, where he is also married, on November 8, 1977 ordering the rival family to vacate the land and pay costs.

The aggrieved family filed an appeal at the Mombasa High Court in 1978, complaining that the magistrate PJ Mwangulu, was related to the Mangale family, and in whose favour he had ruled.

In the appeal it was disclosed that Mr Mwangulu did not disclose he was related to the Mangale family and by mutual consent, lawyers representing the two parties agreed that the case should be heard afresh before a different magistrate in Mombasa.

The fresh case began in 1982 before CM Randu, the then district magistrate in Mombasa when a one Mchomba Mangale, son of Madzayo Mangale, replaced him as a plaintiff against Mumba Chome’s family.

Mr Randu ruled in favour of the Chomes prompting an appeal by the Mangales. The appeal launched in 1982 was heard by Senior Resident Magistrate Gakui Ngibuini who ruled in 1983 in favour of the Chomes and ordered that the Mangales pay costs totaling Sh32,260.

Cows and bulls

The Chomes ruthlessly enforced the order in 1985 by attaching the Mangales’ estate in Kwale including seizing their cows and bulls. The Mangales secured an order the same year by a separate magistrate JC Nyundo who stopped the attachment and secured the release of the animals and the matter appeared to have died down only to erupt in 2011 when a government power firm acquired the disputed land under unclear conditions.

The state firm set aside Sh26 million to compensate the owner of the land. Mariakani County Council declared that the Mangales owned the land sparking a new round of court battles.

The Chomes now under Changawa Ngala Chome following the death of his father, Mumba Chome, sued the power firm and the local authority before the Mombasa High Court.