- Lecchini filed the case in court seeking special damages amounting to Sh80 million from the Registrar of Titles.
- Court rules that the registrar was not at fault to register the land based on documents that turned out to be fake.
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The High Court has declined to compensate a man who obtained an invalid title for a parcel of land from a fraudster impersonating the owner.
Justice Samson Okong’o said Mark Lecchini dealt with a fraud who was not the registered proprietor of the land and consequently obtained a fraudulent registration, certificate and deed plan.
Lecchini filed the case in court seeking special damages amounting to Sh80 million. He claimed that was the value of the suit property at the time of filing the suit, claiming damages from the Attorney General and the Registrar of Titles.
He told the court that he purchased the disputed parcel of land from one Iqbal Singh Rai for Sh8 million.
Lecchini claimed he paid the full purchase price for the suit property to the fake Rai through his advocates Michael Stefanos Kontos, after which the property was transferred to him and was registered in his name by the Registrar of Titles.
Lecchini then took possession of the suit property and started fencing when another person also bearing the name Iqbal Singh Rai, referred to as “the real Rai”, appeared and claimed to be the owner of the property.
The court documents indicate that the real Rai filed a suit at another court in Nairobi to assert his right over the suit property, in which he sought, among other things, the cancellation of the Lecchini’s title to the suit property.
The High Court in September last year made an order cancelling Lecchini’s title to the suit property and reverted it to the real Rai as the rightful owner.
But Lecchini said that while registering the suit property in his favour, the Registrar of Titles was satisfied that the documents that were presented for registration were proper and that there was no fraud on his part.
He said the fake Rai who purported to sell the suit property to him, was not known to him and could not be found and hence the Registrar of Titles had been named as a defendant.
Judge Okong’o said it was clear from the foregoing that Lecchini was defrauded by one Fred Waithaka who was the agent of the fake Rai.
According to the record that was held at the Land Registry, the suit property was registered in the name of Iqbal Singh Rai. This is the same person from whom Lecchini purported to purchase the suit property only that he dealt with a fake Iqbal Singh Rai.
The judge said there was no error or mistake committed by the Registrar of Titles in the registration of Lecchini as the owner of the suit property.
It was Lecchini’s advocates who presented the transfer executed by the fraudster and the fake original certificate of title to the Land Registry so that the property could be registered in the name of Lecchini.
The judge was in agreement with the AG’s and registrar's advocate that it was the duty of Lecchini to conduct due diligence on the person he was purchasing the suit property from.
“There was no negligence or fraud proved against the Registrar of Titles. In the absence of any fault on the part of the Registrar of Titles, Lecchini cannot look to the AG and Registrar of Titles for compensation. I am of the view that Lecchini’s claim should be directed at the fraudster who is known,” the judge ruled.