Christopher Chege Gichuru (Suing as the administrator of the estate of Arthur Gichuru Chege alias Arthur Gichur Cege) v The District Land Registrar Ruiru

3. The Application is supported by the grounds set out in the Originating Summons and the Supporting and Supplementary Affidavits sworn by the Applicant. 4. The Applicant's case is that the Deceased was a member of the then Juja Farm Limited (1976) where he purchased one share in the said company. According to the Applicant, the said share entitled the Deceased to approximately 3.25 acres of land in the name and description of Ruiru/Ruiru East Block 4/48. 5. The Applicant further states that, following a balloting exercise undertaken by Juja Farm Limited, the Deceased was allocated Plot No. 11. It is the Applicant's case that, following subsequent surveying and preparation of the relevant Registry Index Map, Plot No. 11 was identified as and translated into the parcel of land now known as Ruiru/Ruiru East Block 4/48 (hereinafter “the Suit Property”). 6. The Deceased subsequently died in May 2014 before obtaining a certificate of title in respect of the suit property. Following his death, the Applicant petitioned for and obtained a Grant of Letters of Administration in respect of the Deceased's estate in Kiambu High Court Succession Cause No. 19 of 2017. The Grant was subsequently confirmed on 5th June 2017. THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 2

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7. The Applicant states that, upon obtaining the confirmed Grant, he commenced the process of obtaining the title to the Suit Property and presented the Respondent with the relevant succession documents together with the documents relating to the Deceased's membership and allocation by Juja Farm Limited. These documents included the Deceased's share certificate, ballot card and other supporting documentation. 8. According to the Applicant, despite presenting the said documents, the Respondent declined and/or failed to issue the Applicant with a certificate of title in respect of the Suit Property. 9. The Applicant sets out the various steps he undertook in an attempt to regularise the ownership of the Suit Property. He states that he was initially required to obtain a letter from the local Chief, which he duly obtained. He was thereafter directed to obtain confirmation from the Official Receiver, who had acted as the liquidator of Juja Farm Limited (1976), that the Deceased had been a member of the company and had paid up for his share. 10. The Applicant avers that, upon approaching the Official Receiver, he was informed that the liquidation of Juja Farm Limited (1976) had been completed and the company closed. Consequently, the Official Receiver THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 3

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was no longer seized of authority to deal with the affairs of the company or to issue the confirmation sought. 11. The Applicant further states that, in the course of pursuing registration of the suit property, he was directed to obtain confirmation from the District Land Surveyor that the parcel of land corresponding to Plot No. 11 existed. The Applicant states that he complied with this requirement and obtained correspondence from the Survey Office confirming the existence and identification of the parcel. 12. The Applicant contends that, notwithstanding his efforts and the presentation of the available documentation, he has been unable to secure registration of the suit property in the name of the estate. 13. The Applicant further states that he became apprehensive after observing persons visiting the Suit Property. He further contends that the inability to obtain a title has also prejudiced the estate because potential purchasers require documentary proof of ownership before committing themselves to purchase the property. 14. In support of the Originating Summons, the Applicant annexed a copy of the Certificate of Confirmation of Grant issued by the High Court at Kiambu on 5th June 2017. In the certificate of Confirmation of the Grant, the schedule to the Certificate of Confirmation of Grant refers to the Deceased's interest in Juja Farmers Limited, identified as Plot No. 11 THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 4

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and provides that the said property was to be sold and the proceeds thereof shared equally among the beneficiaries of the estate. 15. The Applicant also membership/balloting annexed card, the a Deceased's letter from share the certificate, local Chief, correspondence from the Survey Office confirming the existence of the suit property and various correspondences exchanged between the Applicant's advocates and the Respondent in the course of pursuing registration of the property. 16. The Applicant subsequently filed a Supplementary Affidavit to which he annexed, inter alia, a survey map relating to the Suit Property. 17. The Respondent was duly served with the Originating Summons. Although the Respondent entered appearance through a Memorandum of Appearance dated 10th November 2025 and its counsel attended Court on 17th February 2026, no response to the Originating Summons was filed. 18. The Originating Summons therefore remains unopposed. The absence of a response, however, does not automatically entitle the Applicant to the orders sought. The Court is still required to examine the evidence placed before it and determine whether the Applicant has established, THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 5

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on a balance of probabilities, the legal and factual basis for the relief sought. Analysis and Determination 19. I have carefully considered the Originating Summons dated 1 st July 2025, the Supporting Affidavit and Supplementary Affidavit sworn by the Applicant and the annexures thereto, the pleadings on record and the circumstances of the matter. I have also considered the fact that, although the Respondent entered appearance, it did not file any substantive response to the Application. 20. The principal question for determination is whether, on the evidence before the Court, the Applicant has established a sufficient basis for the issuance of a vesting order in respect of Ruiru/Ruiru East Block 4/48 in his capacity as the Administrator of the Estate of the Deceased. 21. A vesting order is a judicial mechanism through which the Court directs that an interest in property be vested in a specified person or persons. In appropriate circumstances, such an order may be necessary where the person through whom the property ought ordinarily to be transferred is deceased, unavailable, or otherwise incapable of completing the process necessary to perfect the beneficiary's legal interest. THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 6

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22. The equitable nature of the jurisdiction to issue vesting orders was considered in in Re Estate of Mwangi Giture (Deceased) [2016] eKLR, where the Court recognised vesting orders as an appropriate means of facilitating the transmission of property where circumstances prevent the ordinary process of transfer from being completed. The same principle has subsequently been applied in matters where a deceased trustee or other impediment has prevented beneficial ownership from being perfected in law. 23. The Court must, however, be satisfied that the Applicant has established the underlying interest in the property before exercising that jurisdiction. A vesting order cannot be issued merely because an Applicant requests it or because the proceedings are undefended. 24. Section 3(2) of the Evidence Act provides that: “A fact is proved when, after considering the matters before it, the Court either believes it to exist, or considers its existence so probable that a prudent man ought, in the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it exists.” 24. The applicable standard in civil proceedings is therefore proof on a balance of probabilities. The burden rests upon the party who asserts the existence of a fact upon which a legal right or liability depends. THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 7

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25. In the present case, the Applicant has placed before the Court several documents which, when considered together, establish a consistent chain of events concerning the Deceased's interest in Juja Farm Limited (1976). 26. First, there is evidence that the Deceased was a member of Juja Farm Limited (1976) and held a share in the company. The Applicant has produced the Deceased's share certificate in support of this assertion. 27. Secondly, the Applicant has produced the relevant membership and balloting documentation showing that, pursuant to the balloting exercise undertaken by Juja Farm Limited, the Deceased was allocated Plot No. 11. 28. Thirdly, the Applicant has produced documentation from the Survey Office which, according to the evidence before the Court, identifies the parcel Ruiru/Ruiru East Block 4/48 being in existence. The survey documentation is material because the Applicant's case is not merely that the Deceased owned a share in Juja Farm Limited, but that the share was translated, through the allocation and surveying process, into the specific parcel of land now sought to be vested. 29. Fourthly, the Applicant has produced a Certificate of Confirmation of Grant issued by the High Court at Kiambu on 5th June 2017 in Succession Cause No. 19 of 2017. The confirmed Grant establishes THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 8

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the Applicant's authority to administer the estate of the Deceased. The schedule to the Certificate of Confirmation of Grant expressly identifies the Deceased's interest in Juja Farmers Limited as Plot No. 11 and provides for its sale and distribution of the proceeds amongst the beneficiaries. 30. The succession proceedings are significant in the circumstances of this case. The Applicant is not approaching this Court as a stranger asserting a personal interest in the property. He approaches the Court in his capacity as the duly appointed Administrator of the estate of the Deceased, whose interest in Plot No. 11 had been recognized in the succession proceedings. 31. Lastly, the Applicant has placed before the Court correspondence from the local area chief and the Survey Office, as well as correspondence evidencing his attempts to obtain the documentation necessary to complete registration of the property. 32. The Applicant states that he was directed to obtain confirmation from the Official Receiver, as liquidator of Juja Farm Limited (1976), regarding the Deceased's membership and payment for his share. Upon approaching the Official Receiver, however, he was informed that the liquidation of the company had been completed and the company closed. The Applicant was consequently unable to obtain the confirmation in the manner required. THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 9

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33. The Court must consider this evidence in its totality. The inability of the Applicant to obtain further confirmation from the former liquidator cannot, in the circumstances presented, be viewed in isolation from the documentary evidence already produced regarding the Deceased's membership, shareholding and allocation. 34. I also take into account that the Respondent, despite entering appearance and participating in the proceedings on at least one occasion, has not filed any response disputing the Applicant's evidence. There is therefore no competing claim before the Court challenging the Deceased's membership in Juja Farm Limited, the allocation of Plot No. 11, the identification of Plot No. 11 with the suit property, or the Applicant's authority to administer the Deceased's estate. 35. It is important, however, to emphasize that the absence of a response does not relieve the Applicant of the obligation to prove his case. The Court must still interrogate the evidence and satisfy itself that the orders sought are legally and factually justified. 36. Having considered the evidence placed before me, I am satisfied that the Applicant has established, on a balance of probabilities, that the Deceased was a member of Juja Farm Limited (1976), that he held a share therein, that he was allocated Plot No. 11 pursuant to THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 10

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the balloting exercise, and that Plot No. 11 corresponds to the parcel now identified as Ruiru/Ruiru East Block 4/48. 37. I am further satisfied that the Applicant obtained a confirmed Grant in respect of the Deceased's estate and that the hardship to obtain a certificate of title in respect of the suit property has arisen from the historical circumstances surrounding the liquidation and closure of Juja Farm Limited (1976), coupled with the inability to complete the ordinary registration process. 38. The evidence before the Court therefore demonstrates not only the existence of the Deceased's interest but also the practical impediment that has prevented the estate from perfecting that interest through the ordinary process of registration. a. In the circumstances, I find that this is an appropriate case for the Court to exercise its jurisdiction to issue a vesting order. The Applicant has established the requisite factual foundation and has demonstrated his capacity to act on behalf of the estate. However, I note that from the schedule of distribution of the assets of the Deceased, the Applicant is not the only person entitled to the Suit Property. The particular schedule of distribution grants an equal share of the proceeds of the Suit Property to all the beneficiaries of the Estate of the Late Arthur Gichuru Chege alias Arthur Gichur Cege. THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 11

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39. Accordingly, the Originating Summons dated 1 st July 2025 succeeds in the following terms: a. A Vesting Order is hereby issued in respect of all that parcel of land known as Ruiru/Ruiru East Block 4/48, situated within Juja Farm, Kiambu County, vesting the said property in the name of Christopher Chege Gichuru as the administrator of the estate of Arthur Gichuru Chege alias Arthur Gichur Cege (Deceased). b. The Land Registrar, Kiambu, is hereby directed to give effect to the said Vesting Order and to register the suit property in the name of Christopher Chege Gichuru as administrator of the estate of Arthur Gichuru Chege alias Arthur Gichur Cege ( Deceased). c. Each party shall bear its own costs. Dated, signed and delivered virtually at Malindi this 22 nd day of September 2026. ............................... J. M ONYANGO JUDGE In the presence of: 1. Mr. Lubanga for Mr. Mandela for the Applicant. 2. No appearance for the Respondent 3. Court Assistant: Happy. THIKA ELCMISC NO. E059 OF 2025 (JUDGMENT) Page 12

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