- The High Court had ruled that the letter is not proof of title, rather only a step in the process of allocation of land.
- An individual with a title deed has all rights to the land without restrictions either on use or the duration of years.
Image: FILE
On September 22, the Supreme Court ruled than a letter of allotment is not a title deed and cannot pass as one.
Prior to the apex court's ruling, the High Court had ruled that the letter is not proof of title, rather only a step in the process of allocation of land.
What exactly is a letter of allotment?
It is a formal document issued by a government authority or a landowner to confirm the allocation of a piece of land to a person or a company.
A land letter of allotment usually include important details about the property including its location, size and plot number.
It also contains the name of the person being allotted to, and the terms and conditions which include any restriction or specific use requirements.
The person authorising the allotment is required to state the duration, as it may be permanent or temporary, and should list the fee or rent terms.
The Land Regulations, 2017, provides that the National Land Commission oversees the allocation of plots and prepares lease documents on behalf of the national and county governments.
The lease documents are then forwarded to the land registrar for registration and certificate of lease for allottee.
With a letter of allocation, one has the right to possess the land for the specified period of time and for the purpose mentioned in the letter.
They also have a right to use it either for residential, agricultural or commercial purposes, and a right to build - which is subject to local regulations and permits.
They have the right to transfer or lease the land.
The allotment letter is, however, different from a title deed, which shows that an individual has all the rights to a land.
Title deed
A title deed is a signed agreement that proves ownership of land and legal rights to it.
The Court of Appeal stated that "Title to landed property normally comes into existence after issuance of a letter of allotment, meeting the conditions stated in such a letter and actual issuance thereafter of a title document pursuant to provisions held."
An individual with a title deed has all rights to the land without restrictions either on use or the duration of years.
A title deed is issued by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development at the Ministry's regional registry offices.
According to Land Registration Act, a certificate of title is issued by the Registrar upon registration, or to a purchaser of land upon a transfer or transmission by the proprietor.
This is what is normally presented to courts as prima facie evidence that the person named as proprietor of the land is the absolute and indefeasible owner of the land.
Title deeds include Freehold Title deed which represent full ownership of a property and a Leasehold which grants the right to use land for a specific period, can be 99 or 999 years.
It usually contains the details of the land including location, size, survey number, owner or leaseholder.
On Friday, eviction begun at the East African Portland Cement PLC, where hundreds have seen their homes demolished, including several schools and churches.
The Star learnt that the land eviction victims paid for their parcels in cash.
Several victims interviewed revealed that they had no legitimate land ownership documents other than what they termed as the Aimi Ma Lukenya Society's share certificate of membership.
They raised money to get the land, which it emerged, the East Africa Portland Cement Company had put a warning it sale in 2016.
A Facebook post on June 15, 2016, by Portland warned the unsuspecting Kenyans against buying the said land cautioning that the said parcels were not for sale.
It went as far as erecting billboards to warn the public that the said parcels which were being sold belonged to the company hence the public should be wary before making any purchase.
"Byer beware. These parcels of land are not for sale L.R NOs 10425, 8786, 10424, 7815/1 and 8784/4 located on both sides of Mombasa Road between Green Park and Daystar University. All the above parcels are the property of the East African Portland Cement Company," the billboard reads.
The controversial sale of the 4,298 acres of land has now seen hundreds of families left homeless as the demolitions continue.