Yasin Bawa Abdul Majid vs Wilfred Wandaslot – CA PHC 153/2017-2022

In the case between Yasin Bawa Abdul Majid, Director General of Irrigation (Acting), Department of Irrigation (Applicant/Respondent/Respondent), and Wilfred Wandaslot (Respondent/Petitioner/Appellant), the court addressed whether the Director General of Irrigation qualifies as a “competent authority” under the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act No. 07 of 1979, and whether the Appellant was entitled to occupy state land without valid written authority. It was held that the Director General of Irrigation is a competent authority to seek ejectment under the Act and that the burden rests on the occupier to establish a valid permit for state land, which the Appellant failed to do. The court reaffirmed the principle that statutory notice and procedural safeguards must be upheld but found s