The land in contention was alleged to have been donated by Bell’s family to the school in 1992 for agriculture/CFM
NAKURU, Kenya, Aug 9 – The Court of Appeal has ordered former president Daniel arap Moi to relinquish ownership of a 100 acre piece of land to a Nakuru farmer within the next six months.
Malcolm Bell had moved to the Court of Appeal after Justice Muga Apondi ruled in 2005 that Moi High School Kabarak and retired president Moi were the legal owners of the land.
The land in contention was alleged to have been donated by Bell’s family to the school in 1992 for agriculture.
Bell had sought an injunction to compel the school to vacate the land claiming that his late father was coerced to donate the land to the institution by the former president.
Court of Appeal judges Martha Koome and Hannah Okwengu ruled that the High Court erred in granting the land ownership to Moi High School Kabarak and that the school failed to prove they had adverse ownership of the land.
Koome noted that the land was to be transferred to the school by Bell after construction of a cattle dip, a borehole and connection of electricity by Moi.
She observed that Kabarak failed to honour its side of the bargain hence the transfer of the land was not be effected.
Koome added that the High Court gave ownership to Kabarak contrary to the laid down principles of adverse possession of land.
Koome further noted that Malcolm was the certified owner of the land and is entitled to possession of the disputed land.
She added that the legal status of Kabarak was not clear since the school was started off as a public school in 1979 and later transferred to a private school.
“I allow the appeal and set aside the orders restricting the respondent from occupying the land,” Koome ruled.
She ordered the school to vacate the land in six months since the land was agricultural.
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