JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
:The suit, the subject matter of the appeal before us, started way back in 1982, when Clement Gachau s/o Muriuki, the first respondent herein, filed a plaint in the High Court at Nyeri. By that plaint, the first respondent had sought an order from the court against Ibrahim Maina s/o Karuku to the effect that:-
“(a) THE DEFENDANT TO BE ORDERED BY THE HONOURABLE COURT TO TRANSFER TO ME 8.83 ACRES FROM LAND PARCEL NO. KIRIMUKUYU/NGANDU/112 WHICH MEASURES 10.5 ACRES.”
Ibrahim Maina s/o Karuku died during the tortuous litigation and was substituted by his son John Karuku Maina, who is now the appellant before us. When served with the plaint, the late Ibrahim entered an appearance and followed it with a defence in which he denied the averments made in the plaint by the first respondent and went on to plead in paragraph 5 of the said defence that –
“The Defendant further avers that the plaintiff’s case is time barred and should be struck out.”
The matter eventually came befo…