Former Eldoret East MP Joseph Lagat risks a six-month civil jail sentence for contempt of court.
This comes after Duncan Kitur, an Eldoret-based real estate developer, filed an application seeking 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 tampering with the applicant’s Ksh.30 million property in the Chepkanga area of the Uasin Gishu County Eldoret-Iten route.
The businessman had sued Lagat after allegedly moving into the land. He began plowing it with a tractor, ready to plant crops despite a court order prohibiting him from doing so.
On the other hand, Lagat claims to be the legal owner of the disputed land, which he claims he has owned for the past two decades.
Kitur and Lagat have been fighting over possession of the 3-acre prime piece of land for over five years.
The Court order signed by the then Lands and Environment Judge, Justice Millicent Odeny on March 14,2018 stated in part,” In the meantime, the status quo to be maintained that the plaintiff/applicant to remain in possession and no cutting of trees or construction of any kind before the hearing date.”
