A recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Nyeri has reignited the contentious issue of adverse possession—where a registered owner loses his or her parcel of land to a stranger.
The law allows a stranger to be registered as the owner of land through adverse possession if the trespasser occupies it uninterrupted for a period of 12 years. After that, the landowner is compelled to transfer the land to the stranger. This means that landowners must remain vigilant over the use and occupation of their land.
