On Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed the National Land Commission’s 2019 order that sought to cancel Eastern Produce Kenya Ltd’s title to a parcel of land in Nandi County, ruling the company was never provided the evidence underpinning the commission’s recommendation.

The commission had, in 2019, sided with Kimasas Farmers’ Co‑operative Society and advised that titles carved out of L.R. No. 9285 be cancelled and transferred to the society.

Eastern Produce, which holds title to plot L.R. No. 9285/3 under a government grant issued in May 1999, argued that the land hosts its tea factories and plantations and that losing it would jeopardise its investments.

The appeal judges, Justices L. Kimaru, L. Njuguna and J.O. Okello, found the commission had acted unfairly by deciding the case without supplying the documents the company had repeatedly requested, and by treating the company’s silence as an admission.

The court emphasized that procedural fairness requires a party to be given a real opportunity to know the case against it and to answer, especially when the required documents have not been provided.

While the judgment overturns the commission’s decision and the related gazette notice concerning Eastern Produce, it does not resolve the underlying ownership dispute; the commission must reconsider the claim in a properly conducted hearing.

The court also ordered the commission and the farmers’ society to pay Eastern Produce’s costs of the appeal.