- The Lands and Environment Court sitting in Eldoret declared her the rightful owner of the disputed prime properties measuring more than 50 hectares.
- Kamar and her daughter Maria Soti are directors of a Elfam Company Limited that owns the land in question and they also testified before Justice Elijah Obaga.
Image: BY MATHEWS NDANYI
Nominated Senator Prof Margaret Kamar has won a court battle on the ownership of two prime pieces of land in Uasin Gishu which is currently valued at more than Sh400 million.
The Lands and Environment Court sitting in Eldoret declared her the rightful owner of the disputed prime properties measuring more than 50 hectares.
Kamar and her daughter Maria Soti are directors of Elfam Company Limited that owns the land in question and they also testified before Justice Elijah Obaga who was hearing the dispute over ownership of the two parcels of land located in Moiben subcounty.
Justice Obaga in his judgment declared that Kamar who is the widow of former Cabinet Minister Nicholas Biwott, was the legal owner of the two properties measuring 50.3 hectares situated along the Eldoret-Iten highway.
Kamar was entangled in a case over an aborted sale agreement she had entered into with Wilson arap Maina who is the younger brother of former State House Comptroller Abraham Kiptanui six years ago.
Maina claimed to have bought the land and paid Kamar for it through a sale agreement.
“A declaration is hereby given that the defendant is the lawful registered absolute owner of LR No Sergoit (Koiwoptaoi ) Block 13/4,” declared Justice Obaga in his verdict. The judge ruled that the senator was at liberty to sell it, use the two parcels of prime land pursuant to the court verdict.
Justice Obaga however directed Kamar to refund money that had been paid through the aborted agreement.
“The plaintiffs shall be refunded the amount paid in respect of the aborted agreement for LR No Sergoit/Koiwaptaoi Block 13/4 less the 10 per cent deposit which is forfeited to the defendant,” said the judge who ruled that the sale agreement between Kamar and Maina stands rescinded.
The judge, also awarded the senator general damages amounting to Sh10 million.
The court also issued a permanent injunction restraining Maina or his agent, servants or any other persons whatsoever from trespassing, entering, selling or dealing in any manner with the land parcel LR NO Sergoit/Kokwaptaoi Block 13/4. Maina had argued in court that Kamar failed to fulfil her part of their sale agreement.
Maina through his company Kobilo Farm Limited sued Kamar and her daughter over their failure to transfer the two parcels of land that he had bought from them in 2018.
Through his lawyer Patrick Kibii, Maina had told the court that he entered into a sale agreement with Kamar and her daughter on July 9, 2018 in respect of the land in question.
“I fulfilled my part of the agreement by paying Sh194 million. The balance of Sh6 million was to be cleared upon the two defendants surrendering the property to my company,” Maina had argued in court.
He claimed that Kamar and her daughter failed to transfer the property to him, thus compelling him to seek legal redress. Maina narrated how his efforts to access and utilise the parcels of land were frustrated Kamar for long.
“I was also shocked to learn that the senator had used the disputed property as security to secure a Sh22 million loan from the Commodities Fund which she is yet to service,” argued Maina in his affidavit.
Kamar and her daughter however denied claims by Maina and argued that it was the buyer who breached their agreement. They accused Maina of failing to pay the remaining balance as agreed in the sale agreement. The senator insisted that she was the legal owner of the parcels of the land noting that at no time had she transferred the same to Maina.