Omokwe & 10 others v Kanyi & another; Premier Bank Limited (Formerly First Community Bank Limited/Applicant) (Intended Interested Party) (Environment & Land Case E003 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 5619 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction of the ELC over disputes involving charges
The ELC has jurisdiction because a charge is an interest in land under the Land Act, and Articles 162(2)(b) and 165(5) of the Constitution, plus sections 150 and 101 of the Land Act and Land Registration Act, vest jurisdiction over land use, occupation and title in the ELC.
The court applied Article 162(2)(b) and the definition of land in Article 260, embracing the cuius est solum doctrine. Relying on Lydia Nyambura Mbugua v Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd, it held that disputes over charges and sale by chargees fall within the ELC's jurisdiction because they concern proprietary transactions under the Land Act and Land Registration Act. The dominant cause of action here concerned ownership and title to land.
Whether the intended interested party should be joined under Order 1 Rule 10(2)
The application for joinder is merited because the chargee holds a registered charge over the suit property and its presence is necessary for the effective and complete adjudication of all questions in the suit.
The court applied Order 1 Rule 10(2) and the principles in Joseph Njau Kingori v Robert Maina Chege and Civicon Limited v Kivuwatt Limited: the applicant must be a necessary or proper party whose presence enables the court to effectually settle all questions. The chargee had a registered charge dated 14 February 2012 and a subsisting interest as chargee under the 2019 consent, with the subdivision incomplete; it fulfilled all the Kingori criteria.
Plaintiffs' objections: res judicata, lack of locus standi and incompatibility of causes of action
The objections were rejected: the consent in HCCC No. 32 of 2018 settled that matter and no further action was taken there; the dominant cause of action in the present suit concerns title to land, within the ELC's jurisdiction, and the plaintiffs were not party to the High Court suit.
The court found the joinder necessary to avoid orders affecting the chargee being made in its absence, and rejected the argument that joinder would create practical problems or res judicata issues, finding that the present claim (specific performance and injunction relating to land) was distinct from and unaffected by the settled account dispute in HCCC No. 32 of 2018.
Legal principles established
#- The ELC has jurisdiction over disputes relating to charges, as charges are interests in land created under the Land Act and Land Registration Act, which confer jurisdiction on the ELC.
- Joinder of an interested party is permitted where the party's presence is necessary for the court to effectually and completely adjudicate on all questions in the suit.
Court orders
#- 1.Premier Bank Limited (formerly First Community Bank Limited) joined to the suit as an Interested Party (prayer 2 of the application dated 1st March 2024 granted)
- 2.Costs of the application to be in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2)(b) of the Constitution; Sections 150 and 101 of the Land Act and Land Registration Act; Order 1 Rule 10(2) and Order 51 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
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.
- Masieyi & 2 others v Chebet & another (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E005 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 7439 (KLR)[2025] KEELC 7439 (KLR)29 Oct 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Omokwe & 10 others v Kanyi & another; Premier Bank Limited (Formerly First Community Bank Limited/Applicant) (Intended Interested Party) (Environment & Land Case E003 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 5619 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). ELC Case No. E003 of 2023. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2024/5619/eng@2024-07-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.