By The Weekly Vision Reporter
The Environment and Land Court in Nairobi has delivered a landmark judgment, declaring Mount Pleasant Limited the rightful and lawful owner of a contested multi-billion-shilling parcel of land in Muthaiga. The ruling effectively nullifies the ownership claims of Equity Bank Chief Executive Officer Dr James Njuguna Mwangi and Jane Wangui Mundia, bringing to a close a protracted property dispute that has lasted over a decade.
In his ruling, Justice A. Angote found that Mount Pleasant Limited had sufficiently proved its ownership claim over the land, identified as L.R. Nos. 214/20/1/1 and 214/20/2, later amalgamated into L.R. No. 214/832. The court declared that the titles held by Dr Mwangi and Ms Mundia were “null and void ab initio”, meaning invalid from the outset.
“The court has found that between the Plaintiff and the 1st and 2nd Defendants, the Plaintiff has established that it is the legitimate proprietor of the suit properties,” ruled Justice Angote. “It is therefore entitled to a declaration in that respect, as well as vacant possession and injunctive orders restraining interference.”
The judge directed the Chief Land Registrar to cancel all entries, transfers, and conveyances in favour of the Defendants and to rectify the land register to reflect Mount Pleasant Limited as the sole lawful owner.
A mandatory injunction was also issued compelling Dr Mwangi and Ms Mundia to vacate and surrender vacant possession of the property within 30 days; failure to which eviction orders would be executed. The Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at either Gigiri or Muthaiga Police Station was ordered to provide security during the enforcement to ensure peaceful possession by Mount Pleasant.
Justice Angote further awarded KSh 10 million in general damages to Mount Pleasant Limited for trespass. The amount is to be paid jointly and severally by Dr Mwangi and Ms Mundia. In determining the sum, the court considered the land’s location, acreage, duration of trespass, and its estimated value of KSh 1 billion, according to a 2022 valuation report.
While the court refrained from making a finding of fraud, owing to the absence of conclusive forensic evidence from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Justice Angote observed that the numerous “procedural and documentary irregularities” surrounding the conveyance and registration process warranted cancellation of the title.
He added that, even if the doctrine of nemo dat quod non habet (one cannot give what one does not have) did not strictly apply, the anomalies exposed during trial justified impeachment of the title under Section 26(1)(b)of the Land Registration Act.
Mount Pleasant Limited told the court that it had lawfully purchased the property in 2006 from Arthur and Margaret Wairimu Magugu, taking possession shortly thereafter. The company’s guards reportedly remained on-site until March 2020, when they were allegedly evicted by agents of the Defendants.
In their defence, Dr Mwangi and Ms Mundia claimed to have purchased the property from the late President Daniel arap Moi and to have taken possession after titles were issued in their names in 2013.
In his closing remarks, Justice Angote emphasised the court’s role in safeguarding legitimate landowners from unlawful and irregular dispossession. He cited Section 64 of the repealed Registration of Titles Act and Section 80(1) of the Land Registration Act as the legal foundation empowering the court to cancel illegally obtained titles and correct the land register.
“The court must always act to protect those who have lawfully acquired property rights from being deprived through irregular or fraudulent processes,” the judge concluded. The judgment marks a significant victory for Mount Pleasant Limited and a major setback for the Equity Bank boss, whose ownership claim over one of Nairobi’s most exclusive pieces of real estate has now been invalidated.
