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ELCOtherELC Miscellaneous Application No. 18 of 2021· [2021] KEELC 282 (KLR)

John Wekesa Khaoya (Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Human Rights Organization) v Wycliffe Wafula Wangamati [2021] KEELC 282 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
15 December 2021
BOBoaz N. Olao
262 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Environment and Land Court ruled it cannot force a Governor to release a report for public scrutiny, transferring the case to the High Court instead.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The applicant, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Human Rights Organization, filed a Notice of Motion dated 3rd December 2021 under certificate of urgency against the Governor of Bungoma County. From the supporting affidavit, the intended substantive application sought an order compelling the Governor to make available for public scrutiny the report handed in by the Land Inventory team to the community of Bungoma County, invoking Article 3(1) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Justice Boaz N. Olao considered whether the matter fell within the jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court under Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act. He held that although the word 'land' appeared in the affidavit, the dispute was essentially about whether the Governor should be made to avail a report, and therefore was not a 'dispute relating to environment and land' within the court's mandate. Declining to strike out the application, the judge directed that it be transferred to the High Court to be placed before Kemei J for further directions. No costs order was made. The ruling is a short jurisdictional decision transferring the matter rather than determining any substantive rights.

Key legal issues

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01

Jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court over an intended application for an order that the Governor avail a Land Inventory report for public scrutiny

Holding

The court lacked jurisdiction because the dispute concerns compelling the Governor to avail a report, not an environment and land dispute under Section 13 of the ELC Act

Reasoning

The court examined the supporting affidavit to understand the substance of the intended application: an order directing the Governor to make the Land Inventory team's report available for public scrutiny under Article 3(1) of the Constitution. Although land was mentioned, the court characterized the dispute as one about access to a report, which does not fall within the enumerated environment and land disputes the ELC is mandated to determine. Rather than striking out the application, the court exercised a case-management discretion to transfer it to the High Court.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • An order compelling a Governor to avail a report for public scrutiny, even where land is mentioned, does not constitute a dispute relating to environment and land within the jurisdiction conferred by Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Notice of Motion dated 3rd December 2021 is transferred to the High Court to be placed before Kemei J for further directions

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Constitution of Kenya, 2010Article 3(1)
  • Environment and Land Court ActSection 13
Jurisdiction invoked
Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act

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, "John Wekesa Khaoya (Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Human Rights Organization) v Wycliffe Wafula Wangamati [2021] KEELC 282 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). ELC Miscellaneous Application No. 18 of 2021. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2021/282/eng@2021-12-15

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