After a 22-year court battle, members of Makuyu Golf Club can finally breathe a sigh of relief after the Court of Appeal ruled that they rightfully own the course.
The course, started in 1934 by the white settlers, has been in a deplorable condition following a case filed by members in 2002.
The case was filed after multi-national fruits processing company Kakuzi limited drafted a licensing agreement that would have seen the community pay for the course.
Irked by the letter, members decided to head to court, seeking to be granted adverse ownership of the land.
Adverse ownership allows a trespasser to claim ownership over a parcel of land after staying on it for over 12 years. One of the club’s trustees, Joel Mwaura, said they consulted widely before turning down the proposal and filing the case.
“We did our research and talked to some golfers who had played in the course for many years”.
One of them is Susan Flazer, a white settler whose husband chaired the club for more than 10 years during the colonial era.
Flazer said in 1934 when they decided to start playing golf, farms next to Kakuzi limited adjusted their lands to create room for the course The farms compensated the company which then set out the course and held it’s title deed.
With this knowledge, the club’s management started the longstanding court battle in Nyeri Environment and Lands court.
“The case took too long and we
transferred it to Thika which gave
us a favorable judgment in 2018,”
Mwaura said.
