Nominated Senator Margaret Kamar Granted Ownership of Disputed Sh 200 Million Property by Lands Court

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“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.

Nominated Senator Prof Margaret Kamar

Nominated Senator Prof. Margaret Kamar found relief as the Lands Court sitting in Eldoret declared her the rightful owner of a disputed prime property valued at Sh 200 million in Uasin Gishu County.

Justice Elijah Obaga, in his verdict, affirmed Kamar, the widow of former powerful Cabinet Minister the late Nicholas Biwott, as the legal owner of two properties measuring 50.3 hectares along the Eldoret-Iten highway.

“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.

He further ruled that the Senator was entitled to sell the two parcels of prime land pursuant to the aborted sale agreement she had entered into with her accuser, Wilson arap Maina, the younger brother of former State House Comptroller Abraham Kiptanui six years ago.

“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 percent deposit which is forfeited to the defendant.”

Justice Obaga ruled that the sale agreement between Kamar and Maina stands rescinded, adding that the 10 percent deposit paid to the senator should be forfeited to her together.

The Judge, in his ruling, awarded the senator general damages amounting to Sh 10 million.

The complainant suffered further setbacks after the court issued a permanent injunction restraining him or his agents, 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.

Kamar had been embroiled in a legal dispute over the ownership of the two prime parcels of land with Maina, who accused the Senator of failing to fulfill part of their sale agreement.

Maina, through his company Kobilo Farm Limited, took Elfam Company Limited, associated with the late Biwott’s widow, and her daughter Maria Soti to court over their failure to transfer the two parcels of land that he had bought from them in 2018.

According to Maina, he fulfilled his part of the agreement by paying Sh 194 million. The balance of Sh 6 million was to be cleared upon the two defendants surrendering the property to his company.

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 utilize the parcels of land were frustrated by the defendants through their refusal to hand over to him the original title deed, KRA PIN, clearance certificate, and valid rates, among other crucial documents.

“I was also shocked to learn that the Senator had used the disputed property as security to secure a Sh 22 million loan from the Commodities Fund, which she is yet to service,” argued Maina in his affidavit.

However, in their defense in court, Kamar and her daughter dismissed claims by Maina as untrue, stating that Maina was to blame for failing to pay the remaining balance as agreed in the sale agreement.

Kamar faulted Maina, a prominent trader in Uasin Gishu County, for going against the sale agreement concerning the servicing of the said loan.

She argued that to the best of her knowledge, she was still the legal owner of the parcels of land, noting that she had not transferred the same to Maina as he alleges in his court document.

On her part, Maria Soti, the late Biwott’s only child to Kamar, dismissed Maina’s claim that trees in the disputed property had been included in the sale agreement.

“Elfam, which I jointly own with my mother, did not include mature trees in the disputed two parcels of land in the sale agreement as claimed by the complainant,” said Soti.

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