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ELCDismissedELC Case (Eldoret) - not specified in judgment· [2014] KEELC 125 (KLR)

Kondoo Centre Self Help Group Suing Through Officials Namely James Maina, Daniel Mwangi Gikonyo, Ben Kiplagat Kangogo, Daniel Chege v Attorney General & 5 others [2014] KEELC 125 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
16 October 2014
MSMunyao Sila
1,842 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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A Kenyan court refused to stop land titling and evictions because the applicants showed they were unhappy with a process but not that the process was actually wrong.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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Four plaintiffs, describing themselves as officials of Kondoo Centre Self Help Group, sued claiming entitlement on behalf of their members to land parcel Uasin Gishu/Kondoo Scheme/627 at Kondoo Trading Centre, a settlement scheme occupied by members since 1972. They alleged that after the 2007-2008 post-election violence, officials of a rival Kondoo Centre Committee (the 3rd-6th defendants) turned members away and were claiming ownership, and sought declarations, an order that the National Land Commission process titles for them, and injunctions restraining the rival group. Simultaneously they sought interlocutory injunctions restraining eviction, alienation and processing of titles. The 3rd-6th respondents, through a replying affidavit sworn by Stephen Gathuo Kimani, denied wrongdoing, asserting the land was public land held by Burnt Forest Town Council and that after the post-election violence the two rival groups were merged into one joint committee on 11 July 2009 under the initiative of the District Commissioner, whose vetted beneficiary list was endorsed by the area Chief, D.O., D.C., Physical Planner, Land Registrar and Town Council before being forwarded to the Commissioner of Lands. Applying the Giella v Cassman Brown principles, the court found the minutes of the 11 July 2009 meeting demonstrated the merger and an agreed allocation process subsequently approved by the authorities. The plaintiffs, though possibly disgruntled, failed to demonstrate any wrongdoing, illegality, or unfair exclusion in the vetting process, and therefore had not established a prima facie case with a probability of success. The application was dismissed with costs on 16 October 2014.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether a prima facie case was established for an interlocutory injunction

Holding

No prima facie case was established; the plaintiffs did not show the defendants engaged in any illegal or flawed process

Reasoning

The court applied the Giella v Cassman Brown principles. It weighed the rival affidavit material, noted minutes of an 11 July 2009 meeting merging the two rival committees, and found the vetting process had been forwarded to and approved by the relevant authorities. The plaintiffs' mere disgruntlement, without demonstration of wrongdoing or exclusion of entitled beneficiaries, did not establish a prima facie case with a probability of success.

p. 4

Legal principles established

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  • Disgruntlement alone, without demonstrating wrongdoing by the respondent, cannot justify an injunction

Court orders

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  1. 1.The application for injunction dismissed with costs

Authorities

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Cases cited (1)

  • Giella v Cassman Brown
    (1973) EA 358
Jurisdiction invoked
Not expressly stated; original civil jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court over land disputes

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (1)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Kondoo Centre Self Help Group Suing Through Officials Namely James Maina, Daniel Mwangi Gikonyo, Ben Kiplagat Kangogo, Daniel Chege v Attorney General & 5 others [2014] KEELC 125 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2014). ELC Case (Eldoret) - not specified in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2014/125/eng@2014-10-16

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.