Kipsirgoi Investments Limited v Local Authorities Pension Trust Registered Trustees; National Environment Management Authority (Interested Party)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court discharged pension trustees from contempt after they removed illegally laid cabro, confirming that genuinely undoing non-compliance can wipe out contempt.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the application is res judicata the dismissed application of December 9, 2021
Not res judicata; the present application requires an evidential inquiry into whether contempt was purged, which was not the question in the earlier review application
The December 9, 2021 application sought review of the contempt finding, which the court declined. The court had held it could not independently interrogate whether contempt was purged in that application. The present motion raises a distinct issue requiring fresh evidence, so the res judicata elements were not conjunctively satisfied.
Whether the Respondent's Trustees purged the contempt of the September 17, 2021 orders
Yes. The only post-order activity was laying cabro; the cabro having been removed, the road was restored to its state when the orders were issued
The court compared the position of the road at the time of the orders with photographic evidence of its current state. The Petitioner's own deposition showed grading and gravel-laying were complete before the orders; only cabro-laying occurred after. Removal of the cabro restored the status quo, so the contempt was purged.
Legal principles established
#- Purging contempt means atoning for or wiping out the offence by putting right what the court had ordered to be done, not merely appearing and apologising
- A court will accept a purge of contempt unless the purging is not genuine, done in bad faith, or is itself a continuation of the original contempt
- The elements of res judicata must be satisfied in conjunctive, not disjunctive, terms
Court orders
#- 1.Finding that Dr George Kwedho, Hosea Kili, Julius Korir, Matilda Kimetto, John Oscar Juma, Peter Musa Kitesho, Lucy Munjuga, Hon Joseph Kaberia and Winfred Syombua have purged the contempt and complied to the fullest possible extent with the Court's Orders delivered on September 17, 2021
- 2.Discharge of the Respondent's Trustees from contempt
- 3.Costs of the application to be in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original contempt jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court over its own orders of September 17, 2021; application brought under Sections 1A, 1B, 3 & 3A of the Civil Procedure Act and Article 159 of the Constitution
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kipsirgoi Investments Limited v Local Authorities Pension Trust Registered Trustees; National Environment Management Authority (Interested Party)", Case Analysis (2022). Petition E033 of 2021. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/15665/eng@2022-10-06
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.