KENYA – Kenya’s Chief Justice Martha Koome has announced the formation of a three-judge bench to hear and determine an appeal seeking to halt the sale of Lipton and James Finlay Tea companies to a foreign investor.
The appeal, filed on June 12, 2024, aims to stop the transfer of the tea estates to Browns PLC and has been certified as urgent.
The appellants, led by David Ngasura and 19 others, argue that the tea firms are hastily disposing of multiple parcels of land without adhering to due process, a move termed to undermine the Kipsigis Community’s property rights.
Lawyer Joel Bosek, representing the appellants, contends that the actions of the multinational tea firms will deprive the Kenyan government of revenue through stamp duty and capital gains tax payments.
Bosek alleges that the British multinationals are attempting to evade accountability by engaging in legally questionable land transactions.
“The intended exit by Lipton and James Finlay, and their purported transfer of interests to Brown of Sri Lanka, will deny the Kipsigis and Talai communities their rights to mense profits, land preservation, and land rate collections,” Bosek stated.
He further asserted that the companies should not be allowed to introduce new entities that are not party to the ongoing proceedings in the Environment and Land Court.
The Kenya Tea Growers Association, the National Land Commission, the Director of Survey, the County Governments of Kericho and Bomet, and the Borowo and Kipsigis Clans Self-Help Group are listed as the first to sixth respondents in the case.
The appellants approached the Court of Appeal following dissatisfaction with the judgment of Justice Oscar Angote in Nairobi ELC Case No. 3 of 2020, delivered on April 20, 2023.
Bosek’s affidavit details historical grievances, claiming that in 1905, approximately 90,000 acres of land were seized and allocated to 18 settlers based on race.
In 1919, an additional 25,000 acres were appropriated by the British government, resulting in the massive eviction of the Kipsigis community in the East of Kericho Township. Further evictions in 1951 saw another 10,000 acres taken from the Kimulot area.
“Further acquisitions through forceful means have brought the total land under multinational tea companies to over 220,000 acres, without consultation or compensation to the Kipsigis and Talai communities,” Bosek stated.
Justice Angote’s judgment quashed the National Land Commission’s recommendations set out in a gazette notice dated March 1, 2019, alleging violation of the principle of natural justice.
The recommendations included resurveying the land held by tea estates to identify any surplus land for community use, withholding lease renewals until agreements were reached with the respective county governments, and converting 999-year leases to the constitutional requirement of 99 years.
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