Members of Kamuthi Housing Cooperative Society admire a model of its Buffalo Hills and Golf Village in Kiambu project in Kiambu County, which has not performed as expected.
The cash-strapped Kamuthi Housing Co-operative Society has suffered a major blow after the Supreme Court ruled that a multibillion-shilling property, which the society had been relying on to sell and revive its fortunes, belonged to Nairobi County.
This ended a 33-year legal battle over assets worth Sh10 billion.
Kamuthi moved to the apex court in June this year seeking to overturn a Court of Appeal ruling that had declared Nairobi County the legal owner of vast land and property in Kahawa West, off Kamiti Road, Nairobi—property that has been at the centre of a protracted dispute.
The design of Buffalo hills golf course in Kilomambogo Thika by Kamuthi Housing Cooperative Society.
Court filings show the contested land measures 176 prime acres and consists of residential and commercial properties, a public market and parcels of unused land.
In its Supreme Court petition, Kamuthi argued that the Court of Appeal violated its right to a fair hearing when it issued its judgment on January 24 this year in favour of Nairobi County.
Kamuthi had been challenging the appellate court’s decision to dismiss its claim that the Environment and Land Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute because the counterclaim was time-barred.
“In violation of the petitioner’s right to a fair hearing, as protected by Articles 25(c) and 50(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, the learned judges of the Court of Appeal confronted the issue of jurisdiction as an issue in passing,” Kamuthi Housing Co-operative Society chairman Bernard Maina stated in his affidavit.
But the Supreme Court upheld a preliminary objection filed by Nairobi County through Wanjiku Maina and Co. Advocates, arguing that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
“Not all intended appeals lie from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. Only those arising from cases involving the interpretation or application of the Constitution can be entertained. The present case is not one of these. It is a question of who is the valid owner of 154.5 acres and 21.97 acres under LR No. 71/7,” reads the five-judge ruling delivered by a four-judge bench that was empanelled by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Accordingly, the court dismissed Kamuthi’s notice of motion and struck out the petition of appeal with costs to the respondents, thereby upholding both the High Court and Court of Appeal rulings delivered in 2018 in favour of Nairobi County.
“The Supreme Court ruling is a reprieve to buyers who purchased the property from the City Council of Nairobi and have been holding letters of allotment. They can now proceed to apply for title deeds,” said Wanjiku Maina ad Co Advocates, who represented Nairobi County.
Kamuthi was represented by Paul Mwangi and Co. Advocates.
The genesis of the dispute dates back to 1973 when the City Council of Nairobi purchased 154.5 acres under L.R. No. 71/7 at Sh135,000. On March 26, 1980, it acquired a further 21.238 acres for Sh425,000 from Kahawa Farmers Co-operative Society.
According to court documents seen by the Daily Nation, the first parcel was developed into a housing scheme while the second parcel was set aside for a sewage treatment plant serving the estate.
Read: Supreme Court reprieve for Kamuthi Housing in Sh10 billion Kahawa West land row with City Hall
Kamuthi claimed to be the registered proprietor of L.R. No. 71/7 measuring 415 acres, having succeeded Kahawa Farmers Co-operative Society Ltd, which was liquidated vide Gazette Notice No. 3864. Upon liquidation, Kamuthi argued, the property was conveyed to it through a deed dated December 20, 1989, to hold in trust.
After liquidation, Kahawa Farmers Co-operative Society was split into Kiamumbi Farmers Co-operative Society and Kamuthi Farmers Co-operative Society. The latter lodged a suit seeking to evict the Nairobi City Council and, by extension, third-party homeowners who had purchased houses under a rent-to-own scheme.
On December 24, 1991, Kamuthi moved to court seeking to evict City Council officials from 415 acres, alleging that the council was demanding more than what had been agreed in the initial sale contract and that acreage had been illegally hived off.
After numerous court appearances, the matter finally went to full trial on November 5 and 7, 2018, before a judge who delivered a judgment on June 4, 2020, in favour of Nairobi County.
The judge found that Kahawa Farmers Co-operative Society had indeed sold the two parcels of 154.5 and 21.238 acres to the City Council and that the subsequent transfer to Kamuthi was illegal and void. Kamuthi was ordered to transfer both parcels back to the county.
Unsatisfied, Kamuthi moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to stop the transfer pending appeal.
The appeal was heard on July 1, 2024, and judgment delivered on January 24 this year by a tree judge bench who upheld the high court’s findings.
The judges noted that the sale agreement dated January 2, 1973 was binding; that former President Jomo Kenyatta had exempted the transactions from the Land Control Act; and that Nairobi City Council had fully paid for both parcels.
They relied on witness statements and affidavits from senior managers of Kahawa Farmers Co-operative Society, county land officials, valuers, surveyors, company secretaries and several witnesses who unanimously maintained there was mischief by the plaintiff intended to shortchange the respondent.
“It is evidence of a situation where parties—most likely friends—enter agreements in good faith, documents are not perfected, and successors lose sight of the original intention, pursuing causes the original parties would not have contemplated,” the Court of Appeal ruled.
In its prime, Kamuthi Housing Co-operative Society Limited—headquartered in Kiambu County—was one of the most formidable and profitable co-operatives with land and housing investments across neighbouring counties.
Its success, under chairman Bernard Maina, even inspired his brother Samuel Maina to establish Urithi Housing Co-operative Society, which later collapsed with investors’ money, many of whom are still chasing elusive title deeds or refunds.
An artist’s impression of Buffalo Hills and Golf Village housing projects in Kilimambogo by Kamuthi Housing Co-operative Society.
Among Kamuthi’s flagship ventures was the Buffalo Hills Golf and Leisure Village in Thika, Kiambu— a 1,233-acre mixed-use development marketed with promises of presidential suites, a nine-hole golf course, a man-made dam and marina, and other grand amenities overlooking Kilimambogo. The project was aggressively marketed in mainstream and social media, attracting thousands of Kenyan and diaspora investors.
However, the project has repeatedly been targeted by auctioneers acting on behalf of lenders seeking to recover loans advanced to Kamuthi to buy the land. Investors continue to chase title deeds more than a decade later.
A similar story unfolds at Soya Dam Estate in Murang’a, where buyers who invested nearly ten years ago are yet to receive their title deeds.
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