One of the best female investigative journalist we had as a country. This piece changed her life kabisa. For those who don't know, she compiled it in 2019, Citizen TV refused to air it until 2021 and by the time they girl, the girl was jobless and had to run for safety abroad.
HATE TO SAY IT BUT I WILL: WE TOLD YOU SO!!!
This is EXACTLY what we said these houses were going to be - crowded, insecure, no water, poor sanitation - exactly the thing it was meant to solve.
Kowloon Walled City vibes.
🔥🙌Court Reminds Kenyans: A Title Deed Alone Cannot Save You from Adverse Possession
The Environment and Land Court in Githuka v Njau (2025) has delivered a ruling that every landowner and every long-term occupant needs to hear. A man who had lived on a Githunguri parcel for 20 years, after his late father bought it but never completed the transfer, asked the Court to declare him owner through adverse possession. The registered owner never showed up, never challenged the occupation, and never stopped the applicant from using the land openly, peacefully and continuously. The Court granted the applicant absolute ownership.
What the Court reminded the country is uncomfortable: Kenyan law does not protect “title deed landlords” who disappear for decades and then try to appear with threats. Once someone lives on your land for 12 straight years without secrecy, force or permission, the law extinguishes your title whether you like it or not. It also doesn’t matter that the sale to the applicant’s father was never formalized. By simply living there openly from 2005, the applicant turned the registered owner’s silence into legal defeat long before this case ever reached court.
This is not a new invention. It’s a reinforcement of long-standing principles from Wambugu v Njuguna, Mtana Lewa, Chevron v Harrison Charo and other classics: possession MUST be open, uninterrupted, notorious and adverse. The Court also clarified something Kenyans keep misunderstanding: you can own land without occupying it, but only if your legal rights are actively protected. If you abandon the land and someone takes possession in a manner consistent with ownership, time starts running against you. Adverse possession is not a loophole. It is the legal consequence of sleeping on your rights.
This ruling should shake both sides of the Kenyan land equation. For occupiers who have lived on land for long periods while owners vanished, the law offers a legitimate path to secure their homes. For title holders who assume a deed is a magic shield, the message is brutal: if you don’t assert ownership, the law will not defend your laziness. Kenya’s land system rewards vigilance, not entitlement. Whether you inherited land, bought land or were gifted land, protect it. Whether you have lived on land for years, gather evidence. The law doesn’t wait, and neither should you.
#AsantePSHinga #EndSmokingDeaths #RutoWamabarabara Responsible Use Works Seth Panyako Peter Kaluma Eastlando Mpya Embu Malava Constituency #AnniversaryCelebration @georgediano@Thuranira_1@KensonMutethia@joshuamalidzo@NelsonHavi@ckanjama@Counsel_Jeff