A nurse has moved to court suing her pastor for encroaching on her 0.27 hectares of land after he tricked her into signing dubious transaction.
Under a certificate of urgency, Mildred Anyona Mukah says her Pastor, Francis Ngachi Wafula is almost building a permanent house at the parcel which she bought on a loan she is still servicing.
Ms Anyona, a nurse at a dispensary in Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) has asked the court to issue an injunction restraining the respondent either by himself, agents, employing or anyone working under his instructions from developing the property until the suit is heard.
She swears she bought the parcel in April 6,2013 from Collins Ondenyo Ingutia at a cost of Sh130,000 which she paid in two instalments. Coincidentally, her Pastor at Kakamega Gospel Assembly bought a land measuring 0.25 hectares adjacent to Anyona’s from the same seller.
In her court documents, she says the pastor tricked the seller to sign for the transfer of the whole parcel saying they will subdivide the land on their own.Since she trusted him, she signed the sale agreement for the original land parcel number BUTSOTSO/INDANGALASIA/2903 which was to be subdivided between the two.
However, she avers that she came to learn too late that the pastor had transacted the whole land in his name and acquired a title deed from the Lands Registrar. She says being her Bishop, she did not want to take things in her own hands and opted approach him through other church elders.Upon questioning by the church leaders, Mr Ngachi promised to resolve the matter with the petitioner but he was non-committal making her move to court.
“On April 2 when I went to my land with my sister, the respondent tried to deny me access to my land. He told me that I do not have legal rights to access it but I gained forcible entry,” she says.
She contends that she has never benefitted from the land for the last five years since the pastor has constructed a temporary structure on her parcel and has brought materials to build a permanent house. “I secured a loan from Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) to buy the said land which loan I am still servicing to date.
The respondent became adamant and refused to transfer my 0.27ha portion and instead decided to construct a house on my portion,” she says in her court papers.
The nurse adds: “I am requesting the court for an order of injunction restraining the defendant from interfering, encroaching, alienating, cultivating or dealing in any manner with the suit property.”She is also seeking an order directing the Lands Registrar and the land surveyor to conduct a survey on the disputed land which has been sub-divided to curve out her portion from the larger parcel.Chief Magistrate Bildad Ochieng’ ordered the nurse to serve the respondents with the court documents.The matter shall be heard on May 10.