Marakot (Suing as the Duly Appointed Legal Administrator to the Estate of Noondasati Makalto Makalo - Deceased) v Loolamala & 2 others (Environment and Land Case 197 of 2018) [2026] KEELC 2550 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court corrected one wrong word in its own judgment so a family could finally register inherited land.
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 applicant has met the legal threshold for review of the impugned judgement
Key legal issues
#Whether the applicant met the legal threshold for review of the judgment of 3rd March 2022
The threshold was met: the direction to 'revert' the title was a manifest error since the deceased never held title, and the impossibility of execution constituted a sufficient reason for review
The court found the error manifest — the word 'revert' presupposes a prior registered state, which never existed, making the order a mechanical and factual impossibility. Substituting 'register' for 'revert' does not reopen the merits but gives effect to the judgment's clear intention. Delay since 2022 was excused because the need for review arose only when the Land Registrar rejected the decree during execution. Functus officio does not bar corrective variation.
Legal principles established
#- An error apparent on the face of the record must be self-evident and manifest, not requiring elaborate argument
- The inability to enforce a final decree due to a terminological mismatch is a 'sufficient reason' for review
- The functus officio doctrine does not bar a court from corrective, non-merit-based engagement with a decided case
Court orders
#- 1.The Judgment dated 3rd March 2022 is reviewed and varied by substituting the word 'revert' with the word 'register' to enable the Land Registrar, Kajiado, to effect the registration of L.R. Kajiado/Dalalekutuk/3019, 9510, and 9511 in the name of the deceased, Noondasati Makalto Makalo
- 2.An amended decree to be issued with the above variation
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act (Cap 21) and Order 45 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
Relief refused
#Costs of the application (sought to be in the cause; no costs order made)
The judgment's final orders are silent on costs
Costs
No costs order appears in the final orders; costs were sought to be 'in the cause' but the disposition is silent.
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 Judgment dated 3rd March 2022 is hereby reviewed and varied by substituting the word "revert" with the word "register" to enable the Land Registrar, Kajiado, to efiect the registration of L.R. Kajiado/Dalalekutuk/3019, 9510, and 9511 in the name of the deceased, Noondasati Makalto Makalo
To "revert" a title to someone who never held it is a mechanical and factual impossibility
A dispute is not truly resolved if the final decree is unenforceable
An amended decree will accordingly be issued with the above variation
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment headnote describes the application as one for review of 'the Judgment delivered by Honorable M.N. Gicheru at the Kajiado Environment and Land Court on 3rd March 2022' by M.D. Mwangi J, but the ruling itself is styled as the court that passed the judgment being asked to review its own judgment; the two judges are not reconciled on the record
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Marakot (Suing as the Duly Appointed Legal Administrator to the Estate of Noondasati Makalto Makalo - Deceased) v Loolamala & 2 others (Environment and Land Case 197 of 2018) [2026] KEELC 2550 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2550/eng@2026-04-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.