After a 20-year delay, a land suit filed by the family of late Cabinet minister Justus ole Tipis against that of former Senior Chief Lerianko ole Ntutu has finally started.
Rhoda Tipis, the former minister's widow, filed the suit in 2001 over ownership of 830 acres in Narok County, but Ntutu's kin filed a response only last week.
Nanyiku Ntutu and Looyieyio Ntutu have defended the title deeds issued to them, saying they were genuine landowners.
The two, together with other alleged owners, Lemarian Moijoi and Yussuf Mohamed, have refuted claims by Tipis' children that the land belongs to them.
They also defended their several attempts to evict Tipis’ children, Eric Lengeseni and Serah Tipis, from the land.
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The Ntutus say they bought the land from Lemek Ranch Group, which had a membership of over 1,000.
Nanyiku, Looyieyio, Moijoi and Mohamed however want the suit dismissed with costs.
They say they have the title deed, therefore, the Tipis cannot claim the land under adverse possession.
“The defendants (the Ntutus) have purchased the land and are in possession of the title,” reads the replying affidavit.
They add that there existed a clear boundary and beacons between the land and the one Tipis' family owns until 2001 when the Tipis removed the beacons and extended their boundary to the suit parcel.
The four claim that Lemek Ranch Group ceased to exist in 1999 and the suit is an abuse of the court process.
“The plaintiffs cannot claim to own a land that is registered under the name of a group that no longer exists,” reads the response.
Forty-nine years ago, Tipis was allegedly gifted two parcels of land measuring 1,830 acres, including the contested parcel.
The gift was from the same ranch group which the late minister, who served as Narok North MP, was a member of.
According to minutes of a meeting dated September 3, 1992, filed in court as evidence in the case, the group allocated the deceased parcels measuring 1,000 and 830 acres in 1971 and 1972, respectively.
According to the court papers, the Tipis family only obtained titles for the 1,000-acre land on April 20, 1977.
They however did not obtain the registration for the 830-acre land, which is still under the group’s name.
After Tipis' death in 1994, Ntutu’s kin obtained titles for the 830-acre parcel.
A dispute ensued when the Ntutus attempted to evict the Tipis, forcing Tipis’ widow, Rhoda, to sue the four individuals on March 15, 2001.
The title deeds produced as evidence in court are registered under Nanyiku, Looyieyio, Moijoi and Mohamed.
After Rhoda’s death in 2007, Lengeseni joined forces with his sister and have since been fighting their eviction from the land.
After incidences of disappearance of court files, judges' recusals and several transfers of the case from Nairobi to Nakuru to Narok and back to Nakuru, the hearing finally started in November last year.
