Syokimau Bright Homes Limited (Suing on its behalf and on behalf of over 5000 Members of the Athi River Local Community) v East Africa Portland Cement Co. Ltd [2020] KEELC 447 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court confirmed you can get a lost court file reconstructed even if the case was consolidated with others.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Reconstruction of a lost court file
The application for reconstruction was allowed because the Registrar had certified the file as lost.
The court perused the file and found that on 2nd April 2019 the Registrar of the court issued a certificate confirming that the file was lost and advised that it be reconstructed. The defendant's objection that the file was consolidated with other matters under a lead file did not matter, because the plaintiffs needed their pleadings and documents to ventilate their case regardless of consolidation.
Effect of consolidation on entitlement to the file
Consolidation of the file with others does not defeat a party's entitlement to a reconstructed file.
The defendant argued that the file was not lost but was proceeding as a consolidated file under Machakos ELC Case No. 155 of 2016. The court held that it does not matter whether the file was consolidated with others or not; what is imperative is that the plaintiffs are entitled to the court file for the purpose of ventilating their case.
Legal principles established
#Court orders
#- 1.The Court file Machakos Environment and Land Cause No. 43 of 2019 (formerly Nairobi ELC No. 1190 of 2015) be and is hereby reconstructed
- 2.The pleadings and documents annexed to the Affidavits herein be and are hereby accepted as copies of the originals filed in court
- 3.The costs of the Application to be in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent powers of the Environment and Land Court over its own records (reconstruction of a lost court file)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Mangu v Salem Block Limited (Environment & Land Case E043 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 735 (KLR)[2024] KEELC 735 (KLR)19 Feb 2024
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Syokimau Bright Homes Limited (Suing on its behalf and on behalf of over 5000 Members of the Athi River Local Community) v East Africa Portland Cement Co. Ltd [2020] KEELC 447 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Machakos Environment and Land Cause No. 43 of 2019 (formerly Nairobi ELC No. 1190 of 2015). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2020/447/eng@2020-11-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.