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ELCDismissedMachakos ELC Appeal (Notice of Motion dated 21st October 2021)· [2022] KEELC 820 (KLR)
Shadrack Silla Muthama v Kebaso Wycliffe Maengwe [2022] KEELC 820 (KLR)
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·~8 min to read original · ~4 min briefThe bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#The appellant, Shadrack Silla Muthama, moved the Environment and Land Court at Machakos by Notice of Motion dated 21st October 2021, brought under Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Section 3 of the Environment and Land Court Act, seeking a stay of proceedings in Machakos Chief Magistrate's Court ELC Case No. 71 of 2018 pending the hearing and determination of his appeal. The appeal challenges a ruling of 31st August 2021 in which the trial magistrate reviewed her earlier orders, set aside a judgment delivered on 31st March 2021 and directed the suit to be heard afresh. The appellant contended that the review application was heard while the respondent's appeal, Machakos ELC Appeal No. E05 of 2020, was still pending, and that the respondent had misrepresented its withdrawal; he argued that continuation of the lower court proceedings would render his appeal nugatory and cause irreparable prejudice. The respondent opposed through grounds of opposition and submissions, maintaining that he had effectually withdrawn Appeal No. E05 of 2020 under Order 25 Rule 1, that the ruling of 31st August 2021 was grounded on the right to be heard, and that the appellant had not demonstrated arguability or prejudice. Relying on the criteria in Global Tours & Travels Limited (Ringera J), the court held that a stay of proceedings is discretionary and turns on the interest of justice, weighing expeditious disposal, arguability, judicial time and expedition. Finding that the appellant had not demonstrated any prejudice from a fresh hearing and that a stay would hamper expeditious disposal, the court declined the stay, found the motion unmerited, disallowed it, and ordered costs in the cause. The ruling was delivered virtually at Machakos on 17th March 2022 by Christine Ochieng J.
Key legal issues
#01
Whether proceedings in the lower court should be stayed pending determination of the appeal
Holding
Stay of proceedings refused; the application was unmerited
Reasoning
Applying the Ringera J principles in Global Tours & Travels, the court weighed the need for expeditious disposal against the arguability of the appeal. The impugned ruling had set aside a judgment and ordered a fresh hearing in line with the right to be heard. The appellant failed to demonstrate what prejudice he would suffer if the suit were heard afresh, and a stay would delay the case.
p. 3
Legal principles established
#- Whether to grant a stay of proceedings pending appeal is a matter of judicial discretion exercised in the interest of justice, weighing expeditious disposal, arguability of the appeal, judicial time and expedition of the application
Court orders
#- 1.Notice of Motion application dated 21st October 2021 dismissed/unmerited and disallowed
- 2.Costs of the application to be in the cause
- On appeal from
- Chief Magistrate's Court at Machakos (ELC Case No. 71 of 2018)
- ELC CASE NO. 71 OF 2018
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules (2010) and Section 3 of the Environment and Land Court Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Shadrack Silla Muthama v Kebaso Wycliffe Maengwe [2022] KEELC 820 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). Machakos ELC Appeal (Notice of Motion dated 21st October 2021). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/820/eng@2022-03-17
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.