Chumo v Korir & another
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to strike out a late-looking land appeal because no one could prove how much certified delay time applied.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the appeal filed 38 days after the ruling, without leave, was statute-barred and a nullity
The preliminary objection failed because the excluded certified time for preparation of the decree was not disclosed, so the appellant benefits from the doubt; the objection was dismissed under the court's inherent power.
Section 79G requires appeals to be filed within 30 days excluding time certified as requisite for preparation and delivery of the decree or order. The ruling was delivered on April 4, 2022 and the record of appeal filed on May 12, 2022, about 38 days later. However, no certificate or computation of the excluded period was disclosed, so the court could not conclusively find the appeal out of time. Invoking Section 3A, the court dismissed the objection.
The nature of a preliminary objection
The court adopted the Mukisa Biscuits definition: a preliminary objection raises a pure point of law on assumed facts and cannot be raised where facts must be ascertained or discretion exercised.
The court restated the locus classicus formulation from Mukisa Biscuits Manufacturing Co Limited v West End Distributors Limited as the governing statement of the law on preliminary objections before determining the objection on its merits.
Legal principles established
#- Where the certified time requisite for preparation and delivery of the decree/order has not been disclosed or computed, the appellant benefits from the doubt as to whether the appeal was filed within time.
Court orders
#- 1.The Preliminary Objection dated September 12, 2022 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the Preliminary Objection to abide by the outcome of the Appeal
- On appeal from
- Bomet Principal Magistrate's Environment and Land Court
- E18 of 2021
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 79G of the Civil Procedure Act (appeals from subordinate courts to the High Court/Environment and Land Court)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Itumo alias Margaret Nthoki Itumo v Kilolo & 4 others (Environment and Land Case 447 of 2019) [2025] KEELC 5079 (KLR)[2025] KEELC 5079 (KLR)7 Jul 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Chumo v Korir & another", Case Analysis (2023). Environment and Land Appeal E002 of 2022. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2023/18451/eng@2023-06-29
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.