Man wants Land CS Karoney held to account for contempt of court

 A man who moved to court to challenge the legal notice by Land CS Farida Karoney which gives powers to her administration officers to issue land leased has filed a contempt application against her.

Paul Gachie moved to court last year to challenge the implementation of the notice and was granted orders to temporarily stop her planning to effect it.

Gachie argues land registrars will have been deprived of their constitutional powers should Karoney effect the gazette notice.

They said that the law does not recognise land administration officers as they do not have operational laws and the act of parliament does not give them powers to sign documents of land leases or licences.

In the gazette notice, Karoney had issued a legal notice which gives powers to director land administration, deputy director land administration, senior assistant director land administration, assistant director land administration, principal land administration officer and chief land administration officer to issue land leases or licences on June 14, 2019.

In the contempt application filed in February 2020, Gachie wants Karoney and the director of land administration Edward Kosgei be found in contempt of court for disobeying the orders that were given on July 26, 2019.

“Upon being found to have disobeyed the orders that were given by the court, CS Karoney and Kosgei be detained in prison or any other rehabilitation facility all for a period of two years and each of them be made to pay a fine of Sh20million”, Gachie states.

He adds that pursuant to the orders made by the court, Kosgei who is the director, and others named in the impugned legal notice are not to sign leases or licences in relation to private land until the judicial review application is heard and determined.

The impugned legal notice is further not to be implemented until the application is heard and determined.

He, however, stated that the CS has issued instructions that legal notice dated June 14, 2019, be implemented in breach of the terms of the court order.

“Kosgei has further issued a notice confirming Karoney’s instruction and calling for the implementation of the gazette notice and is signing leases in relation to private land with impunity in outright breach of the terms of the orders”, court documents read.

Gachie adds that the conduct of the contemnors is an unjustified and calculated attack on the court and is meant to bring the administration of justice into disrepute and contempt.

“It is necessary that the CS and Kosgei be found to be in contempt of court and jailed to prevent outright interference with or obstruction to the administrative justice”, Gachie says in court papers.