C . M MAWEU Advocates.

12/01/2026

The delivery of justice is a collective responsibility. Lawyers, judges or not the Bible in Zechariah 8:16-17 admonishes us to "Speak the truth to one another, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely" for the Lord is a just God who hates all these things. May you get the true justice you need in 2026.

23/12/2025

26/11/2025

Today’s spotlight is on Supreme Court decision:

Title Deeds are Prima Facie Evidence but Not Conclusive Proof of Land Ownership

Harcharan Sehmi & another v Tarabana Company Limited & 5 others, Petition E033 of 2023; [2025] KESC 21 (KLR) eng@2025-04-11" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kesc/2025/21/eng@2025-04-11
Brief Facts The appellants were registered leasehold proprietors of land in Nairobi acquired in 1968. Before the lease expired in 2001, they applied for renewal but received no formal response. In 2009, the Government allocated the same land to the 2nd respondent, who later transferred it to the 1st respondent. The appellants remained in possession until their eviction in 2014. They filed a suit before the Environment and Land Court, which nullified the respondents’ titles and reinstated the appellants as owners. However, the Court of Appeal reversed the ELC’s judgment, holding that the 1st respondent was a bona fide purchaser. The Supreme Court considered whether such a purchaser’s title could withstand an illegal allocation and addressed the doctrine of legitimate
expectation in lease renewals. Issues
i. Whether the concept of indefeasibility of title under Section 23 of the repealed Registration of Titles Act was similarly applicable under Section 26 of the Land Registration Act.
ii. Whether a certificate of title is conclusive or prima facie evidence of ownership.
iii. The meaning, scope, and applicability of the doctrine of bona fide purchaser for value without notice.
iv. Whether a legitimate expectation arises in the context of lease renewal over public land. Holding

1. Under the repealed Registration of Titles Act, title was conclusive evidence of ownership. On the other hand, under the Land Registration Act, a certificate of title is only prima facie evidence of ownership and can be challenged for fraud, misrepresentation, or illegality.
2. A bona fide purchaser must prove (i) innocence, (ii) payment of value, and (iii) acquisition of a legal es

10/10/2025

To all our clients (both current and prospective), happy customer service week. We are because you are!

01/10/2025

Of ukiachwa achika - did you know that a marriage remains valid until otherwise invalidated by a Court of Law through divorce proceedings? Separation/Desertion, however long, may be a ground for divorce but is not in and of itself evidence of divorce. The law still assumes you’re married albeit separated. Walking out is not the proper way to end things!

22/09/2025

C.M MAWEU Advocates

12/05/2025

In rare cases, Judges have to make decisions that they do not like.

“The hard fact is that sometimes we must make decisions we do not like. We make them because they are right, right in the sense that the law and the Constitution, as we see them, compel the result. And so great is our commitment to the process that, except in the rare case, we do not pause to express distaste for the result, perhaps for fear of undermining a valued principle that dictates the decision” [Justice Kennedy in Texas v Johnson 491 U.S. 397 (1989)]

21/04/2025

Prosecutors the world over have enormous discretionary power, the exercise of that discretion must be characterized by fairness and impartiality.
“It cannot be over-emphasized that the purpose of a criminal prosecution is not to obtain a conviction, it is to lay before a jury what the Crown considers to be credible evidence relevant to what is alleged to be a crime. Counsel have a duty to see that all available legal proof of the facts is represented: it should be done firmly and pressed to its legitimate strength but it must also be done fairly. The role of the prosecutor excludes any notion of winning or losing; his function is a matter of public duty than which in civil life there can be none charged with greater personal responsibility. It is to be efficiently performed with an ingrained sense of the dignity, the seriousness and the justness of judicial proceedings.”
Boucher v. The Queen, (1955) S.C.R. 16 at 24 (Rand J).