The said parcels LR NO. Nairobi Block 82/4915 and LR NO. Nairobi Block 82/4915 originated from a larger parcel of land Green Field Site and Service Scheme which was registered in the name of Harambee Co-operative and Savings Credit Society Limited (HCSCSL) and subdivided to its members.
The two plots were sold to Nashon Wanjir Otieno who was a member of the society and is now deceased, where he formally introduced Maresia Akeyo Obara who is the plaintiff in the suit as the purchaser and the new owner of the properties and instructed them to transfer the same in her favour.
In her case, Akeyo being the rightful owner of the properties claims that her rights of ownership were infringed through fraudulent transactions by (HCSCSL) where they transferred them in favour of Mild Steel Engineering Workshop Limited whose director is Mellitus Oluoch.
Akeyo filed a suit before the Environment and Lands Court in Nairobi where she accused HCSCSL of gross negligence in the aforementioned transfer seeking a declaration that she is the lawful owner of the properties and an order directing the Co-operative Society to transfer the properties in her favour.
In her statement, she stated that as of March 1996, the deceased owned the Co-operative Society Limited Ksh 174,000 which was to be paid before acquiring full ownership of the properties and being able to sell them.
Initially, the decision was to sell the two plots to Mild Steel Engineering Work, but the sale was not complete because they paid Jim a deposit of Ksh 24,000 and refused to pay the bill, insisting they could only pay the balance if HCSuld processed the certificates of titles in their name.
The owner cancelled the sale for that reason and declared to sell the plots to the willing buyer who would pay the purchase price immediately.
They settled on Ksh 404,000 as purchase price for the two plots of which she paid a deposit of Ksh 174,000 and the remainder in two tranches.
She told the court that ” I was aware that the deceased refunded the Ksh 24,000 to the second respondent which was paid him on signing the sale agreement dated December 15, 1995.”
She bought the two plots and was introduced to the HCSCSL offices, introduced her and gave them a copy of a sale agreement that both parties had signed.
Nashon, the deceased, also wrote to the first defendant on April 2, 1996, seeking information about the two parcels of land for her husband, who was working at the Kenya Embassy in Egypt. He (the first defendant) acknowledged the information.
It was not until 2004 that the plaintiff realized that she was pursuing the title of the same parcels of land with Mild Steel Engineering Workshop in the collision of some officers from HCSCSL.
Mild Steel Engineering Workshop whose director is Mellitus Oluoch, second and third respondents respectively alleged that he paid the deceased Sh 216,000 on May 20, 1996, but the same was disputed by the applicant citing that he could not have received the said sum as the second defendant received a cheque of Ksh 17,000 on May 31, 1996, as a refund of deposit.
In determining the matter Justice Lucy Mbugua said “I have found the plaintiff has proved her case on a balance of probabilities and therefore a declaration is hereby issued to the effect that the plaintiff is the rightful owner of the properties LR No Nairobi 82/4915 and Nairobi Block 82/4918.”
She also issued orders of cancellation of the title deed issued to the Mild Steel Engineering Workshop Limited in respect of the said parcels of land.
An injunction order was further issued restraining the defendants, their servants or agents from transferring, occupying or in any other manner howsoever interfering with the said properties.