Stanley Kipkurui Cheruiyot & 29 others v District Land Adjudication & Settlement Officer, Transmara East/ West Districts & 2 others; Kitatei Ntingidai Ole Sipei & 8 others (Interested Parties) [2021] KEELC 1179 (KLR)

The parcels in dispute fall within Olonkolin Adjudication Section and the adjudication process remained unfinished - indeed interim orders barred the Respondents from closing the register. Section 30 of Cap 284, which is mandatory, prohibits instituting or entertaining civil proceedings on interests in land in such a section absent the adjudication officer's written consent. The Petitioners, seeking declarations of ownership, did not comply with this procedure.

Relying on Abdallah Mangi Mohamed and Mutanga Tea & Coffee Company Ltd, the court held that where a statute prescribes a specific dispute resolution mechanism, it must be utilised first. Article 159(2)(c) recognises alternative dispute resolution, and the mechanisms in the Land Adjudication Act had not been declared unconstitutional. Entertaining the petition would usurp those mechanisms.

Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act embodies res judicata to end litigation and prevent abuse of process. Although the Petitioners were not parties to the earlier Kisii suit, the issues and subject matter were similar and directly in issue, and the earlier matter was heard and determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Section 28 of the Environment Court Act also bars re-litigation of finally determined issues.