In property markets, the title deed is supposed to be the end of the argument.
You search. You verify. You pay. You build.
Then, in Kenya, a court looked at a 205-hectare (approximately 506-acre) tract in Ruiru, north of Nairobi, and said, in effect: not so fast. In Marriot Africa International Limited v Murigu & 3 others; Ukombozi Holdings Ltd (Interested Party), the Environment and Land Court ruled on 10 July 2025 that the transfer chain behind L.R. No. 11261/76 was defective at its root. The land had been sold and resold despite legal restrictions arising from a succession dispute, then subdivided into plots and developed. The court ordered the cancellation of the transactions, the revocation of the subdivisions, and restoration of the original records. A government Gazette Notice followed on 15 August 2025, directing affected title holders to surrender their titles within 90 days for cancellation. In February 2026, the Court of Appeal granted a…
