If there’s a caveat or court order or court case on a piece of land, due diligence means that you don’t disregard the caveats and court orders. Case in point below:
In 2008, James Kanyotu, the former Head of Special Branch, as it used to be known, died without a will, leading to a succession case. He was survived by his widows and several children. Part of the succession dispute involved determining Kanyotu’s biological children who would get a share of the estate. In the course of the case, the court issued orders barring any dealings with the assets of the estate.
Land in Question
Part of the estate is a 205-hectare piece of land in Ruiru, L.R. No. 11261/76, owned by Kangaita Coffee Estate, where he was the majority shareholder. Given the court order barring dealings with the assets of the Kanyotu estate (the property he owned), this land could not be sold, transferred, subdivided or charged/used as collateral for loans. Caveats were also placed on the land. This meant that no one could legally sell or transfer the land without the lifting of these restrictions, yet that’s exactly what happened. The land was allegedly sold, transferred and subdivided, and this became the subject of a court case at the Environment and Land Court: Case No. ELCC/4/2021. Marriott Africa International claimed it bought the land for Sh750 million in 2012 from Trendsetters Investments. Trendsetters had allegedly bought the land in 2011 from two Kanyotus. After buying the land from Trendsetters, Marriott transferred the land to Ukombozi Holdings, which subdivided the land into plots and sold it. However, per court testimonies, no money from the sale was deposited in the seller’s (Kangaita Coffee Estate) bank accounts.
Forensic document examiners (Chief Inspector Bernard Cheruiyot and Vincent Chelongo) testified that some Land Control Board consents used in the transfers were forgeries.
Court Ruling
On July 10, 2025, Justice Oguttu Mboya ruled that the 2012 sale to Marriott was illegal, null and void. He said that Trendsetters had no valid title due to the caveats and court orders and that knowledge of the pending succession case and existing court orders should have been a warning that any transaction on the land was illegal.
"It is crystal clear that by the time the sale agreement, February 19, 2012, was being executed, the sale of the suit property was prohibited by lawful and valid orders of the court, which prohibited any dealings with the affairs of companies where the deceased was the majority shareholder,” he said.
Justice Oguttu rejected claims that Marriot and Ukombozi were innocent purchasers without knowledge of the court orders. He noted that the registered caveats and the pending succession dispute should have been sufficient notice. He ordered the mother title to be restored to Kangaita Coffee Estate and revoked all subdivisions and transfers that arose from the illegal sales.
Gazette Notice
After the court ruling, the titles were revoked through an announcement in the Kenya Gazette because the land was illegally subdivided and sold. All affected persons are required to surrender their titles to the Chief Land Registrar within 90 days.
If you are affected, consult your lawyer for guidance.
NB: Before you buy land, know its history, how it’s changed hands, whether there are unresolved disputes and court cases and caveats on it (including the mother title), otherwise ... kitakuramba. Utalia.
PS: The succession case is still in court (17 years later), but the widows recently (July 2025) agreed to settle the dispute amicably, and that all siblings will undergo fresh DNA tests to determine the rightful beneficiaries.
Read more about the issue here:
Ex-spy chief James Kanyotu's family wins Sh10bn land battle
Pattni loses Sh10 billion land case to ex-spy chief Kanyotu's family – The Standard
Kamlesh Pattni loses Sh10 billion land case to ex-spy chief James Kanyotu's family
