Obuli & 2 others v National Environment Management Authority & 3 others (Environment & Land Petition E018 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 646 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court ruled it can hear environmental cases even when an energy tribunal exists, dismissing the objection and awarding costs.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction and the exhaustion doctrine in multifaceted environmental/energy disputes
The preliminary objection failed because the alternative remedy under the Energy Act would not be adequate where responsibility for the dumping of waste among several agencies is unclear, and because the Petition raises allegations of constitutional violations of the right to a clean and healthy environment.
The court applied the Supreme Court's nuanced approach in the stated case (Bia Tosha line): alternative remedies do not necessarily bar constitutional relief where they are inadequate. It found that since it is not clear who dumped the waste and whose mandate it is to clean it up among the four Respondents, resort to the Tribunal would cause blame-shifting, making exhaustion inadequate. The court also noted the ELC's primary jurisdiction over environment matters.
Whether the preliminary objection was a pure point of law
The PO was not a pure point of law as it required the court to engage with facts pleaded in the Petition.
Applying the Mukisa Biscuits principle asserted by the Petitioners, the court found the PO required sourcing evidence from the facts pleaded in support of the Petition, which disqualifies it as a pure point of law. It nonetheless proceeded to consider the merits of the jurisdictional and exhaustion objections, rejecting both.
Legal principles established
#- The availability of an alternative remedy does not necessarily bar a litigant from seeking constitutional relief; where the alternative remedy is inadequate, the court is not restrained from granting constitutional relief.
- A preliminary objection that requires the court to source evidence from facts pleaded is not a pure point of law.
- The Environment and Land Court has primary jurisdiction over disputes involving land and environment issues, notwithstanding the existence of the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal.
Court orders
#- 1.The preliminary objection dated 11th October 2024 brought by the 3rd Respondent is dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Articles 22(c), 39, 42, 69, 70 and 72 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010; Section 13(3) of the Environment and Land Court Act (environmental rights enforcement jurisdiction of the ELC)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Obuli & 2 others v National Environment Management Authority & 3 others (Environment & Land Petition E018 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 646 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in extract. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/646/eng@2025-02-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.