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ELCDismissedNakuru ELC Case No. 251 of 2012-related judicial review motion (application filed 14 September 2016)· [2017] KEELC 3499 (KLR)

Majimoto Group Ranch v District Land Adjudication and Settlement Office Narok South District & 3 others [2017] KEELC 3499 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
16 February 2017
MSMunyao Sila
1,871 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Environment and Land Court ruled that merely being interested in a case's outcome is not enough to join it as an interested party; you must prove your presence is necessary.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This was a ruling on an application by two persons, Twala Stephen Lemeris and Stanley Kimaren Riamit, seeking to be enjoined as interested parties in judicial review proceedings brought by the Maji Moto Group Ranch against the District Land Adjudication and Settlement Office, Narok South District. The main suit sought certiorari to quash a letter dated 16 August 2016 by which the respondent called a Special General Meeting of the Group Ranch to present an investigation report and hold elections. The ex-parte applicant contended the letter was ultra vires the Land (Group Representatives) Act, Chapter 287. Leave had been granted on 5 September 2016 and a stay of the letter's implementation issued on 6 September 2016. The intended interested parties, members of the Group Ranch, argued that the stay had paralysed the Ranch's management following the suspension of its Chairman, affected their property rights under Article 40 of the Constitution, and that their joinder would prevent multiplicity of suits. The application was not opposed. Justice Munyao Sila declined the joinder, holding that the suit presented only one issue - whether the respondent acted ultra vires - which the respondent alone needed to answer. The applicants' grievances were not disclosed or shown to be determinable in the suit. Applying his own decision in Skov Estate Limited v Agriculture Development Corporation, the judge held that a mere interest is insufficient for joinder; necessity to settle all questions in the suit must be shown. The application was dismissed with no orders as to costs, since no formal objection was raised.

Key legal issues

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01

Threshold for joinder of an interested party in judicial review proceedings

Holding

The threshold was not met; mere membership of the Group Ranch and a wish to ventilate undisclosed grievances do not make the applicants necessary parties to the determination of whether the respondent acted ultra vires.

Reasoning

The court held that the single issue in the suit is whether the respondent had lawful authority to write the letter of 16 August 2016, an issue squarely for the respondent to answer. The applicants' grievances were never tabled for assessment and could not be determined within the judicial review proceedings. Enjoining parties who cannot assist in determining the issue burdens the proceedings and prejudices speedy conclusion. The proper person to raise any capacity challenge regarding the suspended Chairman would be the current Chairman or Group Representatives.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A person seeking joinder as an interested party must demonstrate that their presence is necessary for the court to settle all questions involved in the suit; a mere interest in the outcome is insufficient.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The application for joinder of the intended interested parties is dismissed
  2. 2.No orders as to costs, as there was no formal objection raised by the ex-parte applicant to the motion

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Land (Group Representatives) ActChapter 287, Laws of Kenya
  • Constitution of Kenya, 2010Article 40

Cases cited (1)

  • Skov Estate Limited & 5 Others vs Agriculture Development Corporation & Another
    Nakuru ELC, Case No. 251 of 2012 (2015) eKLR
Jurisdiction invoked
Original judicial review jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court under the Land (Group Representatives) Act, Chapter 287, Laws of Kenya

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Majimoto Group Ranch v District Land Adjudication and Settlement Office Narok South District & 3 others [2017] KEELC 3499 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2017). Nakuru ELC Case No. 251 of 2012-related judicial review motion (application filed 14 September 2016). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2017/3499/eng@2017-02-16

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