John Kibunga Kimani Wins Supreme Court Land Dispute Ruling

Kenyan billionaire investor John Kibunga Kimani has secured another legal victory in a Sh205.3 million ($1.59 million) land sale dispute after Kenya’s Supreme Court struck out an appeal by African Cotton Industries Limited, leaving in place an earlier ruling that allowed his company to withdraw from the transaction.

In a ruling delivered on Oct 23, 2026, the Supreme Court found that the dispute did not meet the constitutional threshold required for it to hear the appeal. It also dismissed the company’s application to prevent the property from being sold or transferred while it pursued the case.

The decision leaves intact a March 2026 Court of Appeal judgment that overturned an earlier order compelling Rural Development Services Limited, a company associated with Kimani, to complete the sale.

The dispute dates to July 2, 2013, when Rural Development Services agreed to sell a property identified as Kakuzi/Kirimiri Block 7/281 in Makuyu, Murang’a County, to African Cotton Industries for Sh205.3 million. The buyer paid a deposit of approximately Sh20.5 million, representing 10% of the purchase price, but the transaction did not reach completion.

In February 2021, the Environment and Land Court ruled in favour of African Cotton Industries and ordered the seller to complete the transfer. The court found that a valid sale agreement existed and that the buyer was entitled to specific performance.

Rural Development Services challenged that decision. In March 2026, the Court of Appeal overturned the order, citing the refund of the deposit before the completion date, the absence of full payment and the buyer’s failure to take possession of or improve the property.

African Cotton Industries subsequently approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the dispute raised constitutional questions involving property rights, access to justice and remedies for breach of contract. It also sought orders preventing the land from being transferred while its appeal was pending.

The Supreme Court rejected the argument that the case qualified for a further appeal. It concluded that the underlying dispute concerned a private commercial contract and that the lower courts had not determined issues requiring constitutional interpretation or application.

The judges therefore upheld the objection to the court’s jurisdiction, struck out the appeal and dismissed the application for interim relief. They also ordered African Cotton Industries to bear the costs of the application.

The ruling represents a further setback for the buyer, which had sought to enforce the original agreement after the transaction collapsed. It preserves the Court of Appeal’s decision, which relieved Rural Development Services of the order to complete the sale.

For Kimani, the outcome concludes this latest attempt to challenge his company’s withdrawal from the transaction at Kenya’s highest court. The ruling was based on the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear the appeal, rather than a fresh determination of the original contractual dispute.