Tireless elderly man awaits court ruling on land case 12 years on

Mr Peter Ndirangu moved to court on September 7, 2001 after land he claims to have inherited from his father was allegedly taken by his brother’s children. To date, he is waiting for the court ruling on the case. Photo/COURTESY 

By GALGALLO FAYO

Posted  Wednesday, September 18  2013 at  14:18

In Summary

• The old man moved to the Magistrate Court on September 7, 2001 complaining that his land, which he claims to have inherited from his father, had been forcibly taken by his brother’s children.
• 12 years on, Mr Ndirangu says "nobody has told me when I will get judgment. There is still no date.

Peter Ndirangu, 71, gazes at the stack of correspondence before him on the table, shakes his head and sighs.

He seems to be lost in a far world searching for an answer, but which instead leaves him with more unanswered questions that have seen him knock all the possible doors in Kenya in search of justice.

“I am now in my sunset years, its better I die and rest,” says Mr Ndirangu.

The old man moved to the Magistrate Court on September 7, 2001 complaining that his land, which he claims to have inherited from his father, had been forcibly taken by his brother’s children.

The case was transferred to the High Court in 2002 and allocated case number HCCC 1678/2002.

But his niece, Jedidah Karanja, denies the allegation arguing that she had a court order to take over the land.

Ms Karanja, in papers filed in court, says she is the holder of the title to the 1.21 hectares of land situated in Kikuyu.

But Mr Ndirangu claims that his father owned the piece of land, which was subdivided into three pieces; one was inherited by his brother, the second piece was allocated to him and the third piece was owned by his mother.

Through the government’s compulsory acquisition for the Nairobi-Naivasha Highway construction, the entire piece belonging to his brother was taken and he was compensated.

The father of 12 claims part of his portion too was acquired by the government and he was compensated, but the portion belonging to his mother remained untouched.
When his mother passed away, a dispute erupted that eventually ended up in court.

Mr Ndirangu says he was not party to the earlier suit concerning his mother’s parcel because his piece of land had a separate title and is not part of the disputed land.

He says his brother’s children extended the boundary of the land owned by his mother and took over his land, but the children dispute this.

The defendants say Mr Ndirangu’s entire land was acquired by the government.

But what is disturbing Mr Ndirangu is the period that the case has been pending in court, with no sign of it being finalised soon.

Eleven years later, he is still waiting for a verdict on his case. Early this year his sister, Margaret, who was his key witness, passed away.