Former Eldoret East legislator Joseph Lagat faces a 6-month civil jail sentence for contempt of court.
This follows an application by Duncan Kitur, an Eldoret-based real estate developer, for a summons against the former lawmaker to appear before the Eldoret High Court to explain why he should not be committed to civil jail.
The summons was issued against Lagat after he disobeyed a court order prohibiting him from interfering with the applicant's Ksh.30 million property in the Chepkanga area of Uasin Gishu County's Eldoret-Iten highway.
The businessman had sued Lagat after allegedly moving into the land and began plowing it with a tractor, ready to plant crops, despite a court order prohibiting him from doing so.
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On the other hand, Lagat claims to be the legal owner of the disputed property, which he claims he has owned for the past two decades.
Kitur claims that Lagat evicted him from his land even though he has the title deed, and Lagat has nothing to prove that it is his.
Kitur and Lagat have been fighting over ownership of the 3-acre prime piece of land for over five years.
Kitur has filed a lawsuit against Lagat for obstructing his efforts to seize his property. He has chastised Lagat for plowing the land despite a court order prohibiting him from carrying out any agricultural activities on the property until the court case is heard and decided.
On March 14, 2018, the then Lands and Environment Judge, Justice Millicent Odeny, signed a Court order that stated in part, "In the meantime, the status quo to be maintained that the plaintiff/applicant to remain in possession and no felling of trees or construction of any kind before the hearing date."
The former MP is scheduled to appear before Justice Elijah Obaga for cross-examination on his affidavit.
The matter will be heard on January 13, 2023.
