1. My Lady, My Lord, this appeal arose from the judgment of Chikopa, J
as he then was, delivered on 10 November, 2012. Justice Chikopa heard this
matter when he was a judge in the Commercial Division of the High Court.
The case was filed as Commercial Case No. 06 of 2012.
The Back Ground to the Matter
2. The background to this case is as follows. There is a piece of land
along the lakeshore at Salima known as Plot No 36 where a cottage is built.
This property was conveyed to the appellant by way of Lease for the term of
78 years from 1 September 1989. The Lease is dated 25 September 1989
and registered as Deed No. 61612 in the Deeds Registry. The appellant
received keys to the property from the District Commissioner, Salima. He
went into occupation on 1 September 1989. The Acting Commissioner for
Lands indicated in defence exhibit HM1 that prior to 1989, the property had
been rented to Leyland Motor Corporation from as far back as 1975 and that
the property was guarded by government security guards. These guards
were only discharged on 29 August 1989 when the keys were handed over to
the appellant. 