Skeeter Kwamboka v Water Resources Management Authority; Oasis Park Self-Help Group suing through John Mutinda & another (Interested Parties) [2022] KEELC 958 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Environment and Land Court refused to stop the demolition of Syokimau maisonettes because the owner could not prove her case had a real chance of success.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Plaintiff established a prima facie case with a probability of success for a temporary injunction
She did not. It is undisputed she is the registered proprietor, but past pleadings show she admitted receiving a demolition notice and having attempted a trench for the water channel, and she produced no approvals despite claiming to hold them.
The court compared her current denial of notice with her own affidavit in Nairobi ELC 1037 of 2015 where she admitted being issued a notice and having dug a trench for the water course. Her claim of having all requisite approvals was unsupported by any document annexed. Against the Mrao definition of a prima facie case, the pleadings of the Defendant and Interested Parties were not baseless, so the threshold limb failed and the court declined to assess the other Giella limbs.
Res judicata arising from Machakos ELC Case No. 57 of 2017
The court declined to decide res judicata at the interlocutory stage, noting the previous suit was dismissed on the Plaintiff's failure to extract and serve Summons to Enter Appearance.
The 1st Interested Party and the 2nd Interested Party argued the suit was res judicata, the previous suit having involved an identical injunction application against the same Defendant and having been dismissed. The judge expressly avoided determining that question at this stage, confining the decision to the prima facie case limb while noting the matter had previously been litigated.
Legal principles established
#- Where an applicant fails to establish a prima facie case with a probability of success, the court need not consider the other Giella-Cassman Brown limbs of irreparable harm and balance of convenience
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion application dated 25th November, 2019 is disallowed/dismissed as unmerited
- 2.Costs to be in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Environment and Land Court original civil jurisdiction over land disputes and applications for interlocutory injunctions
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Skeeter Kwamboka v Water Resources Management Authority; Oasis Park Self-Help Group suing through John Mutinda & another (Interested Parties) [2022] KEELC 958 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). ELC Case (Machakos) - Notice of Motion dated 25th November, 2019. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/958/eng@2022-03-08
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.