A judge has declined to reverse a six-year-old ruling that locked out former Vice-President Moody Awori out of a government house over an alleged illegal acquisition.
The former VP lost the property in the heart of Kisumu town, which he claimed he acquired in 1998 after the Environment and Land Court ruled in 2017 that the title deed was irregularly obtained.
Mr Awori was directed to vacate the house but he returned to court saying he had obtained more evidence, including documents and information, regarding the acquisition of the house.
“I find that the grounds for review of the judgment have not been demonstrated,” ruled Justice Esther Asati.
She further observed that the former VP in the era of President Mwai Kibaki failed to prove any infringement or violation of his constitutional rights.
Justice Stephen Kibunja dismissed the case in 2017 after Mr Awori failed to table substantial evidence to show that his rights had been infringed following the quit notice.
He filed the matter in 2013, claiming he was the registered owner of the property, having acquired a 99-year lease from the government on July 1, 1998.
Kisumu County Housing Director Michael Osewe told the court that the property was a government house built in 1976.
But Mr Awori went back to the court stating that he was unable to answer questions from the Lands and Housing ministries because the documents were only available to his son, Jeremy Noel Awori after the judgment had been delivered.
The judge rejected the application for review, stating that there was nothing to show that they were retrieved on a date after the judgment was issued.
The court observed that it was important, where a party relied on the discovery of new matter or evidence, to prove not only the discovery of the evidence but that the discovery happened after the decision had been made. "This has not been proved," noted Justice Asati.
Mr Awori stated that after the judgment was issued, he directed his son to renew efforts to trace the missing documents from the ministries of Lands and Housing.
He added that the new evidence was among the records at the office of the Housing Ministry but its officials made no attempts to bring them to court.
Instead, he said, ministry officials deliberately withheld the evidence from the court in flagrant breach of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
He complained that the court made the judgment without the benefit of receiving and considering the evidence to prove his ownership.
The missing documents, he added, included the boarding of the house, which was the basis for which the lease was created and issued to him.
Additionally, Mr Awori said missing files with the relevant documents were found sometime in October 2021 through persistent efforts by his son.
The son, Jeremy, supported the claims through a sworn statement, saying he made countless efforts and trips to the Ministry of Lands and met various officers in his relentless bid to trace the file, but was unsuccessful.
However, he said, the missing file was traced nine years later and issued to him on October 16, 2021.
The former VP said the discovery of new evidence was enough to compel the court to review the judgment.
