Republic v Land Registrar Trans-Nzoia County & another Ex-parte Turbo Munyaka Co-operative Society Ltd & 4 others [2017] KEELC 469 (KLR)

Relying on the Court of Appeal decision in Biren Amritlal Shah, the court held that there is no provision for review by the Superior Court of its own decisions in judicial review once rendered; Section 8(5) confers a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal, leaving no room for review. The court acknowledged that decisions of concurrent courts (Majanja J and Korir J) supporting inherent jurisdiction were only persuasive and declined to follow them.

Although the court observed that the intended interested parties were adversely affected and had not been served as required by Order 53 Rule 3(2), it held that even the gravity of the consequences could not change the absence of jurisdiction; non-service forms part of the grounds of appeal the applicants may raise before the Court of Appeal, which may issue the necessary orders.

The court found the applicants and the ex-parte applicant were locked in internal society disputes regarding membership, chairmanship and plot ownership. Such disputes must be referred to the Co-operative Societies Tribunal, and the court in judicial review, given its restrictive parameters, could not enquire into the merits of the claims to the parcels of land.

The ex-parte applicant submitted, relying on Welamondi and Republic v C Lutta Kasamani, that apart from Order 53 no provisions of the Civil Procedure Act and Rules apply to judicial review proceedings. The court's ultimate decision rested on the finality of orders under Section 8 of the Law Reform Act rather than on a definitive ruling on this ground.