Blow to Joshua Kulei as Court Restores Prime Nakuru Land to Cove Investments
A Nakuru court has delivered a significant legal and reputational blow to former State House insider Joshua Kulei after ruling that a multi-million shilling land transfer was illegal and must be reversed.
In a judgment handed down on October 15, 2024, Justice MAO Odeny of the Environment and Land Court nullified the transfer of land parcel Nakuru/Olongai/Phase II/34 to Royal Sian Limited, a company caught in the middle of a complex ownership tussle. The court declared that the land rightfully belongs to Cove Investments Limited.
The ruling marks the end of a drawn-out legal dispute that has quietly simmered since 2017, pitting Cove Investments against an array of influential figures—among them Kulei, a powerful businessman and one-time personal assistant to former President Daniel arap Moi.
Cove Investments had moved to court accusing various parties of colluding to dispossess it of the land through fraudulent transactions. It argued that the property was transferred to Royal Sian Limited while the matter was actively being contested in court—an act the judge found to be in direct violation of the doctrine of *lis pendens*, which prohibits interference with land under litigation.
“The transfer of the suit property to the second respondent, Royal Sian Limited, during the pendency of this case is null and void,” Justice Odeny ruled.
Kulei, whose name appeared in court records as one of the respondents, now finds himself on the losing end of a landmark decision that sends ripples through Kenya’s elite land-holding circles. Though the judgment does not allege criminal wrongdoing on his part, it places him squarely among those affected by the court’s firm stance against irregular land transfers.
The court directed the Land Registrar in Nakuru to cancel all entries that had resulted in the issuance of title to Royal Sian Limited. The fourth respondent was ordered to surrender the original Certificate of Lease for cancellation, and a fresh lease was to be issued to Cove Investments.
In addition, the court issued a permanent injunction restraining all parties, including Kulei, from interfering with the land. The first respondent was slapped with the cost of the petition.
