Suleiman (As Administrator of the Estate of Fatuma Binti Hamsi Mwangala (Deceased)) & another v Shabbirhussein & others (Environment and Land Case 2 of 1980) [2026] KEELC 896 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court struck out an attempt to bypass gazettement in reconstructing lost land records, confirming the land registry, not the court, handles reconstruction.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the court should order reconstruction of the lost registry file for Parcel Number 67 Takaungu Group 1 for execution of the decree
- 2.Whether a Provisional Certificate of Title should be issued with waiver of gazettement
- 3.Whether the Deputy Registrar should be directed to sign all instruments in execution of the decree
Key legal issues
#Whether the court can order reconstruction of a lost land registry file and issuance of a provisional title
The application was struck out; no specific statutory provision authorizes such orders and the proper avenue is the land registry process, not the court
The court examined sections 63e of the Civil Procedure Act and 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act relied on by the applicant and found neither specifically authorizes the orders sought. Reconstruction is normally done at the registry with mandatory gazettement, which the applicant wished to avoid. The applicant also failed to demonstrate that the Land Registrar had refused, failed or neglected to perform any duty, the 20th June 2025 letter having merely advised commencement of reconstruction proceedings.
The proper station for execution where the court file and land registry file have both disappeared
Execution should take place at Mombasa, where the suit was heard and determined, not Malindi, and the file should be dispatched there
The court noted the judgment was by Mukunya J. and cited recent cases of forged court records and decrees at the same station. Given the simultaneous disappearance of both the court file and the registry file and acrimony with only one party active, it is unsafe to take execution steps away from the original station; the risk of inappropriate orders and fraud outweighs pragmatic dispatch.
Legal principles established
#- Reconstruction of land records is ordinarily done administratively at the land registry, with mandatory gazettement, without recourse to court
- Where court records and land records have disappeared and only one party is active, execution should not be undertaken away from the station where the suit was heard
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 25th June 2025 is struck out with no orders as to costs
- 2.Malindi Law Court is not the appropriate place for execution of the decree; execution to be at Mombasa where the case was heard and determined
- 3.The Deputy Registrar of this court shall dispatch the file to the Mombasa Station for whatever other orders the applicant desires to apply for
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 63e of the Civil Procedure Act and Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act (as invoked by the applicant)
Relief refused
#Leave for reconstruction of the lost registry file for Parcel Number 67
No specific legal provision authorizes the orders sought and the applicant failed to show the Land Registrar refused, failed or neglected to perform his duties
Issuance of a Provisional Certificate of Title with waiver of gazettement
Reconstruction of land records is ordinarily done at the land registry with mandatory gazettement, without recourse to court
Direction to the Deputy Registrar to sign instruments in execution of the decree
Application held unmerited and struck out
Costs
No orders as to costs
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
The application dated 25th June 2025 is unmerited and is hereby struck out with no orders as to costs.
Malindi Law Court is not the appropriate place for execution of the decree in this matter, but Mombasa, at which station the case was heard and determined
it is quite unsafe for any step, whether in execution or otherwise, to be undertaken in a station away from where the suit was heard
Reconstruction of land records is usually done in the Lands Registries without recourse to court
Issues in the judgment
#The motion is dated 25th June 2025 and judgment is delivered 19th February 2026, yet the Registrar's letter triggering the application is dated 20th June 2025; the chronology as printed is internally tight but consistent. More notably, the judgment refers to the applicant variously as 'Alfred Mwaringa Deche' and 'Alfred Moringa Deche', an apparent typographical inconsistency.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Suleiman (As Administrator of the Estate of Fatuma Binti Hamsi Mwangala (Deceased)) & another v Shabbirhussein & others (Environment and Land Case 2 of 1980) [2026] KEELC 896 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment (Notice of Motion dated 25th June 2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/896/eng@2026-02-19
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.