Opote & another v Registrar; Wawire & another (Interested Parties) (Judicial Review 7 of 2022) [2022] KEELC 3605 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to revive a land judicial review suit dismissed years earlier, because the family waited three unexplained years to ask for review.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Substitution of a deceased party
The court had power under order 24 rule 3(1) to cause the legal representative of a deceased plaintiff to be made a party, and the applicant demonstrated the death and her grant ad litem
The court accepted the certificate of death showing the original applicant died on 15/10/2021 and the grant of letters of administration ad litem issued in Vihiga SPM C AD LIT Succ Cause No 11 of 2022, establishing the applicant as personal representative entitled to substitution under order 24 rule 3(1).
Review under order 45 rule 1 - unreasonable delay
The application for review failed because no ground under order 45 rule 1 was cited or proved and there was an unexplained delay of about three years from the order sought to be reviewed
The court set out the four grounds of review under order 45 rule 1 and found none established: no new and important matter, no error apparent on the face of the record, and no explanation for the roughly three-year delay. The applicant had always been represented, and judicial review demands expeditious disposal, reinforced by sections 8 and 9 of the Fair Administrative Action Act and the overriding objective in section 1B of the Civil Procedure Act.
Legal principles established
#- What amounts to unreasonable delay in a review application depends on the surrounding circumstances of each case
- Judicial review proceedings ought to be instituted, heard and determined within the shortest time possible given their public law and public interest nature
Court orders
#- 1.The notice of motion dated May 10, 2022 is dismissed
- 2.No order as to costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Matter transferred from the High Court at Kakamega to this court as the subject matter is land situated within Vihiga County; application brought under order 45 rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Opote & another v Registrar; Wawire & another (Interested Parties) (Judicial Review 7 of 2022) [2022] KEELC 3605 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). Not stated in the ruling (originally High Court at Kakamega JR No. 2 of 2014). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/3605/eng@2022-07-21
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.