Application to correct names in the register is permissible where there is a spelling mistake, which makes the name differ from the one on the national identification document. It is also permissible where a proprietor has acquired an additional name to previous ones.
To commence the process of correction of name, the proprietor must get a letter from the local administration stating that the names are of the same person. In the case of agricultural land, a letter of consent must be obtained from the local land control board.
Thereafter, the forms for application for correction of names in the register is obtained from the respective land registry. Details of the proposed names and names to be corrected are filled in the form, which must be witnessed by an advocate or a person who knows the applicant, stating the number of years he or she has known the applicant.
Declaration
The applicant must also make a statutory declaration or file an affidavit to support the correction in the register for all land registration purposes instead of former names.
The instrument is then verified by the prescribed officer or other persons and thereafter registered in the respective land registry whose jurisdiction covers the land in question after paying the prescribed fees. The application can be rejected if sufficient evidence is not produced to support it.
Sometimes, the names in the land register and one appearing in the national identification document may differ completely.
If sufficient evidence has been produced to prove that the names belong to one and the same person and he or she has denounced the previous names, a deed poll has to be prepared and registered at Ardhi House after paying the prescribed fee and stamp duty. Thereafter, the deed poll can be presented to the respective land registry to change the name in the register.
Power to rectify the register
The land registrar is empowered by law in the Land Registration Act 2012 to rectify the register and eventually the certificate of title upon proof of the change of the name, error in name or address of any proprietor.
Upon application by the proprietor, the land registrar may make an entry in the register to record the change.The land registrar may also rectify the register or any instruments presented for registration in formal matters and in the case of errors or omissions not materially affecting the interest of any proprietor.In Kenya, verification can be done by a judge, magistrate, registrar of the High Court, registrar general, an administrative officer, a superintendent of prisons, an advocate or a bank official.
In Commonwealth countries, verification can be done by a judge, magistrate, justice of peace, notary public, commission of oaths or an administrative officer.
In other foreign countries, verification is done by a notary public and a British consular officer or pro-consul who shall affix the seal or stamp of office in the certificate.
For those who have been questioning the legality and purpose for application to correct or change name in the register, the process, if done above board, is beneficial to landowners.
Landowners who for various circumstances might have errors or omissions in their names are therefore able to transact after rectification of the anomalies.
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