Njoroge F. A. Wachira & 1 other v Lucy Watiri Muburi & 2 others
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to let land dispute appellants add new evidence years after trial, confirming courts punish unexplained delays and missing due diligence.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the applicants satisfied the rule 31(1)(b) and Mohamed Abdi Mahamud threshold for admission of additional evidence on appeal
The application fails; the applicants made bare assertions without demonstrating relevance, credibility, due diligence, absence of prejudice, or an explanation for the delay.
The court restated the Mohamed Abdi Mahamud criteria: direct relevance, influence on the result, inability to obtain the evidence with reasonable diligence, removal of vagueness, credibility, non-voluminousness, and no patching of gaps. The applicants, who sought to introduce six affidavits from relatives and neighbours about the lineage of their patriarch Mwangi Mutambuki and whether the suit land was ancestral land, merely recited these grounds without demonstrating them. No due diligence was disclosed, the witnesses were plainly available, and the application was brought years after the appeal was filed.
Legal principles established
#- A party seeking to adduce additional evidence on appeal must give a reasonable explanation, with disclosure of the due diligence exercised and why it failed, for not availing the evidence at trial; bare assertions without demonstration do not satisfy the threshold.
- Inordinate and unexplained delay in bringing an application to adduce additional evidence on appeal is an independent ground for its refusal.
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 25th March, 2024 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application to the respondent
- On appeal from
- Environment and Land Court
- Not stated in the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 3A and 3B of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act; section 78(1)(d) of the Civil Procedure Act; rule 31(1)(b) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022; article 50 of the Constitution of Kenya
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Njoroge F. A. Wachira & 1 other v Lucy Watiri Muburi & 2 others", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/1332/eng@2026-07-03
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.