A Nyamira family who have been undergoing agony for years for being unable to bury their late mother due to a land dispute got relief as court cancelled the alleged ‘fraudulent’ title.
Lawyer Paul Macharia at Nyamira Law Courts
This means the family is a step closer to finally laying their mother to rest after the succession case is concluded.
In the case, Robert Kebaso Oseko son of the late Josephat Oseko Momanyi sued one Benson Nyasimi Momanyi who is now deceased claiming that his father’s land was transferred to Benson in unclear circumstances.
Through lawyers Paul Muchiri and Mokua Ndubi, he claims that the 40 acres of land belonged to the late Josephat Oseko and he bought it in 1967 while working as a primary school teacher.
Oseko claims that that the late Nyasimi’s accomplices secretly and with help of influential individuals were planning to sell of the said without involving the children of the late Josephat Oseko Momanyi.
“The decision to defraud the estate of the Josephat Momanyi had occasioned untold suffering as in the result the sons of the late Joseph cannot get a place to bury their mother Yuniah Ongwae who is still lying in the mortuary,” reads court papers.
In his judgement, Nyamira Environment Court Judge Mugo Kamau cancelled the disputed title and ordered it to be registered back to name of Momanyi Oseko.
In the meantime, the court directed the matter to go to succession so that the court can determine how the land will be shared among the family.
“The title deed for Isoge Settlement Scheme is hereby cancelled and the land is registered in the name of Momanyi Oseko who is deceased pending succession of the estate,” the judge ruled.
Justice Kamau further ordered that there should be no intermeddling with the suit land until the succession process of the estate of Momanyi Oseko is finalized.
The late Momanyi Oseko died on May 2 2008 and the according to the family they didn’t know that the title of the said property had been changed.
However, they realized that the land had been registered in the name of Benson Momanyi now deceased in 2001 and a title deed issued to him in 2004.
“The late Momanyi never sold the land to the late Benson nor voluntarily transferred it to him and he was not a son to Momanyi further none of his children were involved in having their father’s land registered to Benson,” reads court papers.
They had also told court that the respondents have refused to explain how the land of the late Momanyi Oesko was transferred to the late Benson Momanyi.
“That despite demands to explain how the suit property ended up being registered in the name off Benson Momanyi they have not offered a satisfactory explanation,” reads court papers.
Lawyer Paul Muchiri has since written to the Nyamira Land registrar requesting him to make the changes to the tittle deed as has been ordered by the court.
