Kiliavo Fresh Limited v The National Environment Tribunal & 4 others
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that if a law provides an appeal route, you must use it—judicial review won't save a wrong procedural choice.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether judicial review was the proper avenue to challenge the National Environment Tribunal's decision dismissing the appellant's appeal
No. Section 130 of EMCA provides an appeal to the High Court (ELC) as the remedy, and that special procedure had to be strictly followed; judicial review was not the route.
The Court acknowledged that judicial review is now constitutionally entrenched under Article 47 and operationalised by the Fair Administrative Action Act, but held that where Parliament has provided a statutory appeal procedure, a party must follow it. No exceptional circumstance was shown to justify bypassing the appeal mechanism; the Court echoed its prior authority in R v NEMA and the Supreme Court's Abidha Nicholus decision on alternative remedies.
Whether the ELC Judge erred in finding he lacked jurisdiction over the Judicial Review application
He did not err; the ELC properly declined jurisdiction because the appellant had come by the wrong procedural route.
Since the statutory scheme under section 130 of EMCA channels challenges to Tribunal decisions through an appeal, the Judicial Review motion was incompetent and the Judge's finding of want of jurisdiction was correct. The jurisdictional question was determinative and dispositive of the appeal.
Legal principles established
#- Where a statute prescribes a specific procedure for redress, that procedure must be strictly followed and judicial review is unavailable except in exceptional circumstances
- An appeal to the High Court under section 130 of EMCA is the statutory remedy against a decision of the National Environment Tribunal, and a party aggrieved by such a decision cannot instead invoke judicial review absent exceptional circumstances
Court orders
#- 1.Appeal dismissed
- 2.Costs to the respondents
- 3.Appeal consolidated with Civil Appeal No. E447 of 2027 (consolidation done at the hearing for purposes of the hearing)
- On appeal from
- Environment and Land Court (Kajiado)
- ELC (Kajiado) JR Application No. E002 of 2021
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal to the Court of Appeal under the framework following the ELC decision; appellant invoked Articles 47, 162(2)(b), 165(3)(d)(ii) and 165(6) of the Constitution and sections 7(1)(a) and 9 of the Fair Administrative Action Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kiliavo Fresh Limited v The National Environment Tribunal & 4 others", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment (consolidated with Civil Appeal No. E447 of 2027 as printed). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/623/eng@2025-04-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.