JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
Before embarking on the hearing of any matter, every court must be satisfied that it has the jurisdiction i.e. the legal power or authority to hear the matter. If the court has that power, then and only then does it proceed to hear the matter; but if the court determines that it has no jurisdiction then as was said in the case of THE OWNERS OF THE MOTOR VESSEL “LILIAN S” v. CALTEX OIL (KENYA) LTD [1989] KLR 1. “------- the court must down tools.” The matter before us was originally dealt with by the Butere Land Disputes Tribunal which rendered its decision over land known as Marama/Shianda/126. The Tribunal’s decision was as follows:-
“THE COURT’S OPINION.
(a) From the evidence given and the fact that the Defendant’s father on his return from Bungoma never went back to settle on his original land it is enough proof that he had actually sold land to Moses Webuko who in turn had built a house for his son on this land.
(b) The court accepts that the procedure and proces…