Supreme Court has dismissed an application by an Eldoret-based family seeking to reverse an earlier decision which allowed the families of billionaire Jaswant Rai and former President Daniel Moi to appeal the order, prompting them to pay Ksh1 billion as compensation to the family.
In the application filed by Susan Chelugui and her son David Chelugui, they argued that the families of Moi and Rai had forcefully taken their 53-acre land in Eldoret and hence should be prompted to pay the Ksh1 billion compensation verdict, which was granted in 2019 by the Environment and Land Court.
However, the seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the application, giving the green light for Moi and Rai families to appeal the compensation.
"All other issues raised by the applicant are in the circumstances completely misguided and do not require our attention at all. Consequently, and without saying more, we deem the application before us frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of the process of court," the ruling read in part.
Susan Chelugui and her son had sued Moi and billionaire Jaswant Rai for allegedly taking their 53-acre land in Eldoret in 1983. She argued that the Moi family took the land from them in 1983 and sold it to Rai Plywood, a firm owned by Jaswant Rai.
The case proceeded to the Environment and Land Court, which ruled in favour of Chelugui's family and ordered Moi and Rai to pay Ksh1 billion as compensation accrued over the years.
The decision was later appealed by senior counsel Zehrabanu Janmohamed, who represented the Moi family and sought to overturn the ruling.
In July 2022, the Court of Appeal, however, upheld the ruling, saying that the acquisition of the land by the Moi family was arbitrary deprivation of property.
In order to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the land belonged to the Chelugui family, the Court of Appeal ordered them to provide additional evidence to prove ownership of the disputed land.
In its ruling, the Appellate court also allowed Moi and Rai to appeal the Ksh1 billion amount as compensation.
"This court finds that Susan and Chelugui's actions were not in any way contemptuous. It is my considered view that the reasons afforded are valid. It is fair and reasonable to adduce further evidence be head and determined," read part of the judgment.
In June 2023, Susan filed written submissions on her claims to the property in order to prove that the decisions by the High Court and Court of Appeal to grant the Ksh1 billion compensation were correct.
