PUBLIC TRUSTEE V. WANDURU NDEGWA

JUDGMENT

Madan JA On March 16, 1967, the late Mr Stanley Gathungu Mathu entered into a written agreement with Mr Wanduru Ndegwa for the purchase of Mr Ndegwa’s agricultural land parcel No Loc 8/Manyutha-Ndutumi/84 comprising 1.82 hectares situated in Murang’a District, and registered under the Registered Land Act (cap 300). The purchase price of Kshs 4,720 was paid in full by Mr Mathu immediately on the signing of the agreement of sale on that day by the respondent on behalf of his father.

At the time of the making of this land deal the relevant provisions of the law were set out in section 218(2), chapter XII, part 3 of the Constitution (LN No 718 of 1963) which provided that an agreement for the sale of agricultural land as defined in section 215(1)

“shall be absolutely void for all purposes (a) at the expiration of three months after making of the agreement if application for consent has not been made within that time to the appropriate Divisional Board ...”.

The objects of these provi…