Lakeview Investments Limited v John Paul Odero (sued as the Chairman, Nairobi Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association) (Environment & Land Case 280 of 2017) [2020] KEELC 1210 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court confirmed that even someone found in contempt can still ask the same court to review that ruling.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Right of audience of an undischargeed contemnor
The preliminary objection on audience fails; the court is obliged to hear the applicant on a properly filed review application.
Section 80 and Order 45 permit an aggrieved party to seek review of a ruling, and nothing in those provisions excludes contempt rulings. Since the law allows the application, the court has a constitutional and statutory duty to hear the applicant. The discretion recognised in Rose Detho favours granting an opportunity to be heard.
Res judicata and functus officio
A review application is not res judicata of the ruling sought to be reviewed, nor does hearing it amount to the court sitting on appeal over its own decision.
The Defendant argued the court had already rejected the grounds on 15th May 2020 and became functus officio. The court held that review is a statutorily recognised route to challenge a ruling, and any argument that the application is in substance an appeal should be raised in opposition to the application itself, not by preliminary objection.
Legal principles established
#- A party aggrieved by a contempt ruling may challenge it by way of review under Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 of the Civil Procedure Rules; being an undischargeed contemnor does not, as a preliminary point of law, bar audience on such an application.
- Whether an application for review meets the requirements of Order 45 can only be determined after hearing both parties.
Court orders
#- 1.The Defendant's Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 23rd July, 2020 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the Preliminary Objection awarded to the Plaintiff
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original jurisdiction; review under Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Lakeview Investments Limited v John Paul Odero (sued as the Chairman, Nairobi Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association) (Environment & Land Case 280 of 2017) [2020] KEELC 1210 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2020/1210/eng@2020-09-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.