Two men, same name, same land: 30yr court battle heads for supreme court

Bedan Ireri M’Miti and Ireri Ndwiga have spent more than three decades battling over ownership of land parcel Gaturi/Weru/313 in a case now headed toward the Supreme Court.

Two men sharing nearly identical names have spent more than three decades battling over ownership of the same piece of land in a legal dispute that has moved through courts in Meru, Embu and Nyeri  and could now be headed to the Supreme Court.

The long-running fight over land parcel Gaturi/Weru/313 pits Bedan Ireri M’Miti against Ireri Ndwiga, both claiming to be the rightful owner of the disputed property.

The case, which has dragged on for over 30 years despite attempts at alternative dispute resolution, highlights one of Kenya’s recurring  land ownership challenges where individuals with similar or identical names lay claim to the same property.

Ireri Ndwiga told the court that he is the registered proprietor of the land and accused Bedan of fraudulently transferring the property into his name in 1975 after allegedly changing his name from Bedan Ireri M’Miti to Ireri Ndwiga.

But Bedan denied the allegations, insisting he was lawfully allocated the land by the Gicuku clan in 1961 and later followed due process to change his name through the relevant Land Control Board.

According to Bedan, the land was originally registered under his former name, Ireri Ndwiga, before he officially changed it to Bedan Ireri M’Miti in 1975.

“The land control board gave me its consent to correct my name and registered me as the lawful owner of land parcel number Gaturi/Weru/313 in my name Bedan Ireri M'Miti from Ireri Ndwiga on 21/10/1975,” he argued in court.

He further told the court that his father, Ndwiga Karange Ireri, began working on the land immediately after demarcation in 1961 while he was still in school.

Bedan also maintained that he had lived on the land with his family since 1973.

A witness from the Gicuki clan, Karanja Mathanjuki, supported Bedan’s claims, telling the court the clan allocated the land to the family.

“We also gave his son, Ireri Ndwiga land at Weru. It was 15 acres,” Mathanjuki testified.

However, the courts ruled against Bedan.

High Court Judge YM Angima found that the identity card used by Bedan during the name change process was fictitious and non-existent.

“It was simply used for the purpose of fraudulent acquisition of the suit property,” ruled the judge.

The Court of Appeal in Nyeri, comprising Justices JW Lessit, Ali-Aroni and GV Odunga, upheld the decision and dismissed Bedan’s appeal with costs.

“Like the trial court, we find that the respondent had proved to the required standard that he was the allottee of the suit property and that even if the appellant paid for the processing of the title for the suit property, merely because he had the money, that did not sanctify the title,” the judges ruled.

They added: “Secondly, and quite clearly, the appellant used fraudulent means to have his name replace that of the respondent.”

Despite the setbacks, Bedan has now moved back to the Court of Appeal in Meru seeking certification to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that the dispute raises issues of public importance.