The late James Kanyotu.
More than 600 people who purchased a 500-acre land in Ruiru, Kiambu County belonging to former spymaster James Kanyotu have won a reprieve after the Court of Appeal issued orders stopping their eviction from the contested property.
A bench of three judges of the Court of Appeal said the application by the home owners, who claimed they were innocent purchasers, had merit.
The court said that they were bona fide purchasers for value without notice was an arguable point.
“We consider that, given the many families that have settled on the disputed property following the contested purchases, and given the social and public utilities that now exist on the property, a case of the appeal or intended appeal being rendered nugatory if stay and injunction are not granted has been made,” said the court.
The Kanyotu family has been fighting to reclaim the Sh10 billion property in Ruiru arguing that the sale to Trendsetters Investment Ltd and later Marriot Africa International was illegal.
Marriot said it purchased the property from Trendsetters Investments ltd in 2012 for Sh750 million, while Trendsetters on its part says it purchased the land from Kangaita Coffee Estate, belonging to Kanyotu for Sh700 million, a year earlier.
The Environment and Land court had ruled in October last year that the property remained part of the estate of Kangaita Coffee Estate Limited, where Mr Kanyotu was the majority shareholder.
The court had ruled that the sale was illegal because there was an order stopping anyone from dealing with the property, pending the conclusion of a succession case.
Mr Kanyotu died in 2008 leaving behind multibillion properties. A succession case is yet to be concluded.
The environment court had ruled that Marriott could not claim a clean title because Trendsetters, from whom it acquired the land, held no valid title due to existing court orders and registered caveats.
The court further rejected claims by Marriot and Ukombozi that they were innocent purchasers without knowledge of the court orders, noting that the registered caveats and the pending succession dispute should have been sufficient notice.
The judge found that constructive knowledge of the pending succession case and the existing court orders should have been sufficient warning to Trendsetters and Marriott that any transaction on the land was tainted by illegality.
“A semblance of due diligence would no doubt have brought to the attention and knowledge of the 1st defendant to counterclaim the existence of court orders. This, in my humble view, constituted sufficient warning to the 1st defendant to the counterclaim that any sale would be vitiated by illegality,” the judge observed.
Former spymaster James Kanyotu.
The third parties submitted that they had extensively developed their respective portions by building permanent homes, schools and other facilities.
They expressed fears that the order revoking their title deeds as directed by the court would render them homeless.
The home buyers maintained that they were innocent purchasers for value without notice and that they were not parties to the succession proceedings and were therefore not aware of the orders in question.
The court heard that they were represented by the lawyers who were involved in the succession cause and that the agreement for the sale of the property was drafted by the advocates now representing them in the case.
‘We allow the application contained in the motions dated 24th July 2025 and 28th July 2025 in terms that, until the appeal and/or intended appeal is heard and determined, the 1st and 4th respondents, or those acting under them, shall not evict the applicant, 3rd respondent and interested parties from the suit property, LR No. 11261/76 (IR 88741) or any of its subdivisions, or in any other way interfere with their peaceful occupation,” said the court.
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