The Supreme Court has said there is no evidence to prove that the Department of Defence ever acquired valid title to a disputed parcel of land measuring 90 acres in Embakasi.
The judges said Torino Enterprises which was also laying claim to the property also does not have a valid title to the suit property.
"As matters currently stand therefore, title to the suit property, remains vested in Nairobi County which is the legal successor to the defunct Nairobi City Council," said the Apex Court.
According to the court records, on 21 February 1964, the land in Embakasi was alienated and granted to Kayole Estates Limited.
Later on, the parcel of land was transfered to the then Nairobi City Council.
But in 2011, Torino Enterprises Ltd lodged a case at the Courts saying it acquired the disputed property from Renton Company for a term of 99 years from 2000 after paying Sh 12 million.
Torino argued it was the registered proprietor having been issued with a certificate of Title on April 26, 2001.
In a rejoinder, the Attorney General disputed that claim and contended that Torino did not acquire a good title from Renton Company Limited.
The Attorney General maintained that the letter of allotment, upon which the Torino's title is premised, was silent on whose behalf the Commissioner of Lands was making the allotment.
The AG argued that at the time of its transfer to Torino, the conditional thirty days acceptance period had lapsed. In addition, it said the property was not un-alienated government land and therefore the Commissioner of Lands lacked the authority to alienate it.
In their findings, the Supreme Court Judges said Renton could only have acquired valid title from the Nairobi City Council, and not the Commissioner of Lands who had long been stripped of authority to allocate the same.
"We find that the defunct Nairobi City Council acquired valid title to the Suit Property from Kayole Estates Ltd through purchase," they said.
The Kenya Army Mine Action Training Centre stands at the disputed property.
