Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu has announced plans to appeal a landmark ruling by the Narok Environment and Land Court that awarded 4,720 acres of land within the Maasai Mara Game Reserve to his brother, Livingstone Kunini.
The ruling, delivered on March 6, 2025, concluded a 26-year legal battle between the Narok County Government and Kunini. The court declared that the land, registered as CIS MARA/TALEK 155, legally belongs to Kunini. Additionally, the county government was ordered to pay Kunini all revenue collected from the land over the past 26 years.
Governor Ntutu responded by stating that he had instructed county lawyers to carefully review the judgment and explore legal avenues for an appeal.
“As a way forward, I have instructed the Narok County Government’s legal team to carefully review the judgment and the entire suit so they can advise the county government on the next course of action including an appeal,” he said.
The case originated in 2000 when Kunini filed a suit (Civil Suit No. 1565 of 2000) claiming ownership of the land based on a title deed acquired through adjudication. After an initial Consent Judgment in his favor, the High Court overturned the decision, leading Kunini to appeal. In 2014, the Court of Appeal reinstated the Consent Judgment, a decision the Narok County Government later challenged at the Supreme Court.
In 2018, the Supreme Court, led by then-Chief Justice David Maraga, referred the case back to the Environment and Land Court, ruling that it had jurisdiction to determine the legality of Kunini’s title deed. The county government has maintained that the land is unadjudicated trust land and should never have been issued a title deed.
The disputed land is a prime wildlife habitat, home to leopards, cheetahs, and lions, and hosts several tented camps, including the renowned Ol Kiombo Lodge.
Governor Ntutu clarified that the dispute is strictly between Kunini and the county government, not a personal or family matter. As the county government prepares for an appeal, this legal battle over one of Kenya’s most iconic wildlife reserves is far from over.
