IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA

AT NYERI

JOSEPH WANGAI MACHARIA.....................................................................................APPLICANT/RESPONDENT

RULING

 The thrust of the Respondent/Applicant’s Motion is that he was not served with the Notice of taxation hence the taxation proceeded exparte and only came to learn of it when auctioneers attached his property. The Respondent/Applicant further argued that since L.R. NO. TETU/KABAGE/69, the subject matter of the suit was government land no action would lie against him.

I have considered the rival submissions and the material placed before me. I have already stated that the application is premised on two main reasons: First that the notice of taxation was not served. Secondly, that there is an allegation that the suit property is government land hence no suit can flow from it. Let me start with the second ground which is to the effect that the suit land i.e. L.R. TETU/KABAGE/69 is government land. I have perused the copy of the official search attached to both affidavits. The one annexed to the affidavit of Macharia Ndigirigi shows that the suit land is registered in the name of Wanjiru w/o Macharia and that there is intention to have the same exchanged with L.R. NO. MWEIGA/KAKANGA/15 and MWEIGA/KAKANGA/192, whereas the one attached to the replying affidavit of Joseph Wangai Macharia shows that the land is still in the name of Wanjiru w/o Macharia. But the truth is that the government expressed its intention to acquire L.R. NO. TETU/KABAGE/69 in exchange with other parcels on 30^th September 1987. After a careful consideration of the matter, I am convinced that the property was still registered in the name of Wanjiru w/o Macharia until 30^th September 1987 when the same was transferred to the government. In a nutshell it is now government property. The history leading to the filing the bill of costs which was taxed giving rise to the certificate of costs made on 20^th August 2010 started when Joseph Wangai Macharia filed a complaint before the Nyeri Land Disputes Tribunal against James Macharia Ndigirigi & Another. The Land Disputes Tribunal ruled the case in favour of Joseph Wangai Macharia. The losers appealed to the Provincial Land Disputes Appeals Committee and lost again. They i.e. Macharia Ndigirigi and Kariuki Wanyeki were ordered to vacate L.R. NO. TETU/KABAGE/69 and to pay costs. The decision of the Provincial Land Disputes Appeals Committee was adopted by the Chief Magistrate’s Court on 12^th November 2008. Upon obtaining the adoptive order, the Respondent/Applicant proceeded to tax his bill of costs. There is no evidence that the Appellants appealed against the decision of the Provincial land Disputes Appeals Committee. The Respondent/Applicant is now before this Court claiming that the Applicant/Respondent is not entitled to costs because the land in dispute is Government land. To be fair to the Applicant/Respondent, I do not think that submission can stand because there is an order of costs awarded by the Provincial Appeals Committee and adopted by the Chief Magistrate’s Court as its order.

Dated and delivered at Nyeri this 19^th day of November 2010.

 J. K. SERGON

JUDGE