Wamba (As Personal Representative of the Estate of Phillipe Wamba) v UAP Insurance Company
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Temporal application of the 2006 and 2009 amendments to the Insurance (Motor Vehicle Third Party Risks) Act
The applicable statutory regime is that in force at the date of the accident; the amendments, not being retrospective, did not apply to a 2002 accident, so the insurer's liability was not capped at Ksh 3,000,000.
Section 4(1) mandates insurance against third-party risks arising from the use of a motor vehicle; the risk covered is the risk at the time of use. Liability arises at the time of the accident, not when a claim is made or adjudged, and the third party's right of action accrues on the day of the accident. Since the amendments lacked retrospective effect and were not faulted on that point, the pre-amendment provisions, which contained no liability cap, governed.
Effect of the 2006 amendment introducing paragraph (iv) to section 5 and the 2009 deletion of section 10(5)
The 2006 amendment marked a shift from limitless insurer liability to a liability that could be capped at Ksh 3,000,000 per claimant; the deletion of section 10(5) in 2009 followed logically because the insurer no longer needed protection against excess payments.
Before the amendment, section 5 required coverage of any liability for death or bodily injury without a monetary cap, and section 10(5) let the insurer recover from the insured sums paid beyond policy limits. Once liability could be capped by contract after 2006, that statutory cushion became unnecessary, explaining the 2009 deletion. The amendments were consequential shifts in the statutory scheme, not idle provisions.
Legal principles established
#- The law applicable to an insurer's statutory third-party liability is the law operative at the time of the accident, not at the time of suit or judgment.
- Prior to the 2006 amendment, section 5 of the Insurance (Motor Vehicle Third Party Risks) Act imposed no limit on the insurer's liability per claimant, so a policy could not cap liability at Ksh 3,000,000 for accidents before the amendment.
Court orders
#- 1.Judgment of the High Court delivered on 17th December 2020 set aside
- 2.Judgment entered for the appellant against the respondent as prayed in the plaint for Ksh. 2,283,362.40 and US$600,000 with interest at court rates from the date of filing of Nairobi HCCC No. 232 of 2014 until payment in full
- 3.Costs of the appeal and of the High Court awarded to the appellant against the respondent
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya, Nairobi
- H.C.C.C. No. 232 of 2014
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal to the Court of Appeal under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act against the judgment and decree of the High Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Wamba (As Personal Representative of the Estate of Phillipe Wamba) v UAP Insurance Company", Case Analysis (2026). Civil Appeal E302 of 2021. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/1773/eng@2026-09-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.