SAID SWEILEM GHEITHAN SAANUM V. COMMISSIONER OF LANDS (BEING SUED THROUGH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL), MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF MOMBASA, NORMAN TAHERALI DAWOODBHAI, HASSAN TAHERALI DAWOODBHAI, ALI RAMANDHAN MWATSAU & MOHAMED NAMAN MOHAMED

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

Said Sweilem Gheithan Saanum (now deceased) brought against the respondents an action being Mombasa H.C.C.C. No.227 of 2002 claiming ownership of the parcel of land known as MOMBASA/BLOCKXVII/1098 by virtue of a land certificate issued to him on 11^thOctober, 1976 and alleging that the Commissioner of Lands as the 1^st respondent had directed him to surrender the certificate without explaining the purpose for such surrender, only to learn later that the land had been subdivided giving rise to MOMBASA/BLOCKXVII/1517 (the suit property) which was, without his knowledge, consent or consideration, transferred and registered in favour of the Municipal Council of Mombasa, the 2^nd respondent, now the County Government of Mombasa. It was alleged that the 2^nd respondent had in turn allocated the suit property and granted a 99 year lease jointly to Ali Ramadhan Mwatsau and Mohamed Naman Mohamed, the 5^th and 6^th respondents respectively; that this latter transfer was subsequen…