A herd of elephants at the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
The Court of Appeal has allowed Livingstone Kunini Ntutu, brother to Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, to continue collecting tourism revenue from facilities located on 4,720 acres of prime land within the world-renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve.
In an order issued on July 16, a three-judge bench comprising Justices Mohamed Warsame, Patrick Kiage and John Mativo ruled that Mr Ntutu is at liberty to collect revenue from tourism facilities located within the land.
Mr Ntutu is locked in a protracted legal battle with the Narok County Government over the ownership of the expansive land.
While the county government maintains that the land is part of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Mr Ntutu argues that he was lawfully allocated the land in 1997 and that the title deed he holds was rightfully issued in his favour.
“Having considered Appeal No. 052 of 2025 before the court, we hereby direct that Mr Livingstone Kunini Ntutu, having taken possession of the land known as CIS MARA/TALEK 155, is at liberty to collect fees, levies, and other taxes from facilities located on the property. In the event the appeal is successful, he will render an accurate account of all monies collected to the Narok County Government,” reads part of the Court of Appeal order.
The court further directed that no party shall interfere with Mr Ntutu’s possession of the land pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.
“No party shall interfere with the first respondent’s possession pending the hearing and determination of the appeal,” the ruling continues.
The case has now been lined up for a priority hearing, and both parties have 15 days to file and exchange submissions. The court also temporarily halted any sale or transfer of the property until the appeal is concluded.
The expansive land, registered as CIS MARA/TALEK 155, is a key breeding ground for leopards, cheetahs, and lions—making it a prime tourist site. It also hosts more than 13 tourism tented camps, including the popular Ol Kiombo Lodge owned by Mr Ntutu.
Apart from being a major tourist destination, the land is considered a cornerstone of Maasai cultural heritage and ecological conservation.
With its proximity to key wildlife habitats, it has become a battleground for competing interests—including those of the Maasai community, conservationists and political leaders.
The court's latest ruling means Mr Ntutu will maintain possession of the land and continue collecting billions of shillings in revenue from the tourism facilities, pending the outcome of the appeal.
The decades-old land dispute resurfaced in court after the Resoluterise Community-Based Organisation filed an appeal on March 28, 2025, at the Appellate Court in Nakuru seeking to stay implementation of a judgment delivered on March 6, 2025, in favour of Mr Ntutu.
That judgment by the Environment and Land Court (ELC) handed Mr Ntutu ownership of the land after a 20-year legal battle. The ruling also directed that he be paid billions in tourism revenue and barred the county government from collecting any future rents, royalties, or fees from the land.
The ruling triggered protests in Maasai Mara that led to the shooting of two people.
Through Senior Counsel Paul Muite and lawyer Allan Meing'ati, Governor Patrick ole Ntutu—who disagreed with the ruling—filed an appeal to overturn the ELC decision that handed the land to his brother. Separately, the Resoluterise organisation filed a separate appeal in Nakuru.
In its appeal, the Narok County Government argues that the land is unadjudicated trust land and, therefore, no title deed should have been issued to any individual.
"The land registered as CIS MARA/TALEK 155 is public property held in trust by the Narok County (formerly Narok Town Council) for the people of Kenya," the county government states in court papers. It seeks revocation of the title deed held by Mr Ntutu and his company, Ol Kiombo Limited.
"Allowing Mr Ntutu to continue owning and using the land will erode the status of the Maasai Mara National Reserve as an important national heritage," the county adds in its submissions.
The defunct Narok Town Council initiated the legal case more than 25 years ago, contesting Mr Ntutu's title deed. Both parties—Mr Ntutu and the Narok County Government—continue to lay claim to the expansive land.
Mr Ntutu, however, insists that he is the legal owner of the property.
“I legally own the land. Contrary to the county government’s claims, the land was not unadjudicated. Through Legal Notice No. 412/92 dated October 1992, the then Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, in exercise of his legal powers, declared the Talek area of the then Narok District as having ceased to be part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve,” court documents state.
He adds that on May 6, 1997, by a notice of motion under Section 5 of the Land Adjudication Act, the Land Adjudication Officer in Narok declared Talek a degazetted area eligible for adjudication.
Following the declaration, an adjudication exercise was carried out, resulting in 155 parcels of land. Mr Ntutu says he was registered as the absolute proprietor of one of the parcels, CIS-MARA/TALEK/155, which measures over 4,000 acres.
“The land was registered on October 14, 1997, in accordance with the provisions of the Registered Land Act, Cap 300 (now repealed),” he says.
He claims that despite this, the then Narok Town Council continued to exercise rights over the land, including collecting rent, tariffs, royalties and other revenue.
Before Governor Patrick Ntutu’s election, the case was initially between Mr. Livingstone Kunini Ntutu and the now-defunct Narok Town Council.
Current court records show that the first and second appellants in the case are the Narok County Government; the first respondent is Livingstone Kunini Ntutu; the second and third respondents are Ol Kiombo Limited; and the fourth respondent is the Attorney General.
The Court of Appeal will determine whether the title deed was legally and constitutionally acquired and whether any fraud or irregularities marred the process.
The case has moved through the judicial ranks—from the High Court and the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court—seeking final resolution.
The dispute dates back to 1984 when the defunct County Council of Narok granted Ol Kiombo Ltd a 33-year lease within the reserve to run tourist hospitality services. However, in 1992, the government declared the area part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, terminating the lease.
In 2000, Mr Ntutu moved to reclaim the land, and in 2005, he signed a consent order barring the council from collecting rent or royalties from his company. The council later disputed the consent, and in 2014, Lady Justice Pauline Nyamweya revoked it, ruling it illegal and ordering that the land revert to the county.
Mr Ntutu appealed. In 2015, Appellate Judges Roselyn Nambuye, Daniel Musinga and Jamila Mohammed ruled that the lease was valid and ordered that Mr Ntutu repossess the land.
The Narok County Government then moved to the Supreme Court, arguing that the title deed had been cancelled in 2010 and that the lease contravened wildlife conservation laws.
“As early as 1969, the government had prohibited adjudication and registration of individual titles in the game reserve,” said the county's advocate Tom Ojienda. He added that the land, being trust land, could only be divided through adjudication and fresh classification.
Ojienda further argued that allowing private ownership would enable unlawful disposal of communal land and harm public interest.
In 2018, the Supreme Court, led by then Chief Justice David Maraga, referred the matter to the Narok Environment and Land Court, which ruled earlier this year in favour of Mr Ntutu.
That verdict is now at the centre of the ongoing Court of Appeal proceedings.
