A 17-year dispute over 933.9 acres of land in Kiambu County has taken a new turn with a family's claim that its ancestors acquired the land through a barter deal involving 2,000 goats and cattle in 1930. The Mbari ya Mbogo family says the land, now valued at over Sh100 billion, was bought from the Dorobo community by its ancestor, Mbogo Wainaina. This transaction was not in writing.
The family's claim was presented to the Senate in May 2023 by Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang'wa on behalf of the Mbogo's Family Welfare Group. The petition alleged that the family later lost control of the land following dealings involving colonial settlers and a farmers' cooperative, Kasarini Farmers' Co-operative Society Limited. The petition asked Parliament to investigate the alleged illegal alienation of land identified as LR Nos. 7153/1, 7153/2, and 7153/R.
However, rivals reject the ancestral claim and rely on registered titles. The National Land Commission considered the historical injustice claim but dismissed it in 2019, citing pending court proceedings. The commission's decision did not determine the rightful owner of the property. Some parties challenged the NLC's involvement, arguing that the commission lacked jurisdiction over private land and acted outside the statutory ten-year period.
The dispute has also featured in a long-running Environment and Land Court case filed in 2009 seeking recovery of the property and cancellation of titles. In March 2023, the court declined an application by seven people suing on behalf of Kasarini Farmers' Co-operative Society and Karani Self Help Group seeking to revive the suit. The court found that the applicants had not sufficiently explained the delay.
A separate strand concerns Ndunde Investments Limited, which says its property interests were affected by the creation and transfer of competing titles. Ndunde sued Pamat Enterprises Limited, Wiyan Properties Limited, and government land officials, among others, claiming that land records were manipulated to create overlapping titles. The company alleges that the disputed title originated from a grant issued to Gianni before being transferred through other parties.
In their defence, Pamat and Wiyan deny that Ndunde has demonstrated a valid chain of ownership linking its documents to the properties they claim. They challenge the authenticity and reliability of the documents relied on by Ndunde and argue that the company has failed to establish a connection between its alleged parcels and their registered interests. The two companies say they acquired their interests through lawful transactions.
The four proceedings identified in the latest court direction include cases by Margaret Nyokabi Mbugua, Mbari ya Mbogo, and Esther Njeri Gikunju against the commission and other parties. The latest direction does not settle the competing ownership claims but seeks to clarify the relationship between the proceedings and the land records at their centre. The matter is scheduled to return to court on January 27, 2027.
Key points
- The dispute over the 933.9 acres of land in Kiambu County involves competing claims of ancestral ownership and registered titles.
- The National Land Commission dismissed the historical injustice claim due to pending court proceedings.
- The court has directed lawyers to exchange documents to establish whether the cases relate to the same land and title records.
