The High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the widow of former Finance Minister Arthur Magugu, over a contested land worth Sh17 billion in Muthaiga North.
The court dismissed the petition saying issues raised by Margaret Wairimu Magugu, touched on land and should be handled by the Environment and Land court.
‘The matters raised in the petition are issues preserved for the Environment and Land court. The court is therefore, precluded from assuming jurisdiction in matters reserved for other courts,’ said the judge.
The widow had accused Karura Investment of illegally hiving off part of her 82.4-acre land in Muthaiga North and was in the process of subdividing and disposing the disputed land.
Karura Investments Limited, which claims to own the land, asked the court to dismiss the case arguing that it was a fresh attempt by Ms Magugu to litigate the matter after failing in previous occasions.
Evidence presented in court showed that Magugu obtained the title deed for a 101-acre piece of land in Muthaiga from Joreth Ltd on December 16, 1982. Magugu used the land, registered as LR number 12422/9, as collateral when his company Commercial Commodities Ltd borrowed Sh25 million from Grindlays Bank, now trading as Stanbic.
In November 1988, Magugu allegedly instructed his surveyor to initiate subdivision of the property into two parcels – one measuring 88.6 acres and another 12.9 acres. On October 25, 1993 the land was eventually subdivided into LR number 12422/203 measuring 12.9 acres and LR number 12422/204 measuring 88.6 acres.
But on the same morning, another application to subdivide the larger portion was made, and the subdivision process completed within three-and-a-half hours. The application was given the same computation number as Mr Magugu’s from five years earlier – 23380.
Ms Magugu said the family discovered the changes when she filed a succession case. The court, allowed Ms Magugu to appeal against the ruling.