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ELCDismissedNot stated in the judgment (Eldoret ELC suit; former suit Eldoret ELC No. 608 of 2021 [Alice Chepkoech Yano & others v Samson Kiprop & 6 others])· [2021] KEELC 1495 (KLR)

Geoffrrey Kipkemboi Lelei v Alice Jepkoech Yano [2021] KEELC 1495 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
5 October 2021
EOE.O. Obaga
1,264 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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·~5 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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Kenya's Environment and Land Court dismissed a landowner's repeat lawsuit, confirming courts will reject claims already decided in an earlier case between the same parties.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a ruling on a preliminary objection raised by the Defendant in a land dispute before the Environment and Land Court at Eldoret. The Defendant raised ten grounds, but the court (E.O. Obaga, J) found that grounds 1 to 9 did not raise pure points of law and therefore did not qualify as preliminary objections. Only ground 10 - res judicata - fell for determination. The Defendant contended that the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff were already determined in a former suit, Eldoret ELC No. 608 of 2021 (Alice Chepkoech Yano & others v Samson Kiprop & 6 others), in which the current plaintiff was the 6th defendant. In that former suit, judgment was delivered ex-parte on 5th March 2015 in favour of the plaintiffs, declaring them owners of ELDORET/MUNICIPALITY/BLOCK 15/2051 and granting a permanent injunction; the defendants were subsequently evicted. A later application by the plaintiff (then 6th defendant) for boundary demarcation was compromised by a consent order, and the District Land Surveyor re-established the boundary beacons between Blocks 15/1889 and 15/2051, filing a report in July 2015. The court, applying section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act and the Court of Appeal's articulation of the ingredients of res judicata in Florence Maritime Services Ltd (following Karia v Attorney General), held that the current suit sought what had already been granted in the former suit. The court also noted that Justice Ombwayo had earlier, in a ruling of 24th November 2017, dismissed the plaintiff's application for injunction on the same basis. The Preliminary Objection was upheld and the plaintiff's suit dismissed with costs to the Defendant.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the suit is res judicata

Holding

Yes - the reliefs sought in the current suit were already granted in the former suit, in which the current plaintiff was the 6th defendant

Reasoning

The plaintiff in the current suit was the 6th defendant in Eldoret ELC No. 608 of 2021, where judgment was delivered ex-parte on 5th March 2015 granting declaration of ownership over Block 15/2051 and a permanent injunction. The boundary between Block 15/1889 and Block 15/2051 was subsequently re-established by the District Land Surveyor pursuant to a consent order. The current suit seeks the same reliefs between parties litigating over the same subject matter, satisfying section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act.

p. 2
02

Whether grounds 1 to 9 qualify as a preliminary objection

Holding

No - they do not raise pure points of law

Reasoning

Only ground 10 (res judicata) was a pure point of law capable of disposing of the suit without ascertainment of facts; the remaining grounds were matters of fact or mixed law and fact and did not meet the standard for a preliminary objection.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • Grounds that do not raise pure points of law do not qualify to be preliminary points of law
  • Ingredients of res judicata: directly and substantially in issue in a former suit, same parties litigating under the same title, and a competent court that finally determined the former suit
  • Res judicata serves the public interest that there be an end to litigation and protects parties from repetitive litigation

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Preliminary Objection is upheld
  2. 2.The Plaintiff's suit is dismissed with costs to the Defendant

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Civil Procedure ActSection 7

Cases cited (3)

  • Alice Chepkoech Yano & others =vs= Samson Kiprop & 6 others
    Eldoret ELC No. 608 of 2021
  • Florence Maritime Services Limited & another =vs= Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure & 3 others
    [2015] eKLR
  • Karia & Another =vs= the Attorney General and Others
    [2005] 1 EA 83
Jurisdiction invoked
Original jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court; preliminary objection on res judicata under section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (1)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Geoffrrey Kipkemboi Lelei v Alice Jepkoech Yano [2021] KEELC 1495 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Not stated in the judgment (Eldoret ELC suit; former suit Eldoret ELC No. 608 of 2021 [Alice Chepkoech Yano & others v Samson Kiprop & 6 others]). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2021/1495/eng@2021-10-05

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