Gogni Rajope Construction Company v Dennis (Environment and Land Appeal E002 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 684 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court confirmed landlords must give statutory notice even for unwritten tenancies, but cut a tenant's payout by removing duplicated damages and unproven repair costs.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Requirement of notice to terminate a controlled tenancy
The trial magistrate did not err; the notice requirement is statutory, not a contractual term imported suo moto
The tenancy was unwritten and thus a controlled tenancy under Section 2 of the Landlord and Tenant (Shops, Hotels and Catering Establishments) Act. Section 4(2) obliges a landlord to give notice in the prescribed form to terminate. The respondent testified the tenancy continued to 30 November 2018, and the appellant's own manager admitted rent arrears and liability for repairs. No director testified to rebut this evidence.
Double award of mesne profits and general damages
It was improper to award both mesne profits (Kshs.672,000) and general damages (Kshs.500,000); the mesne profits award was set aside
Following Kenya Hotels Properties Ltd v Willesden Investments Ltd and Maina Kabuchwa v Gachuma Gacheru, mesne profits and damages for trespass mean the same thing and only one can be granted. Additionally, no specific sum was pleaded as mesne profits in the plaint, so the quantified award of Kshs.672,000 was unjustified.
Repair charges of Kshs.230,000 as special damages
The award was set aside because repair charges were not specifically pleaded as a quantified sum
The plaint claimed damages generally for damage to the house without quantifying repair charges. Special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved. Producing receipts at trial did not cure the failure to plead the specific sum; the plaint ought to have been amended.
Mitigation of losses
The respondent was not at fault for failing to mitigate; the appellant still retained part of the premises
The duty to mitigate is one of fact and does not require the injured party to injure himself or his property. Since the appellant only handed over on 30 November 2018, repossessing and re-letting would have been imprudent; awaiting handover was reasonable.
Legal principles established
#- A landlord of a controlled tenancy must give statutory notice in the prescribed form to terminate it, even where the tenancy is unwritten
- Mesne profits and damages for trespass/general damages for wrongful occupation cannot both be awarded for the same period
- Special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal partly succeeds
- 2.The judgment in the lower Court is set aside and substituted with an award of general damages of Kshs.500,000, costs and interest
- 3.The appellant, having succeeded only partly, to have half costs here and in the Court below
- On appeal from
- Busia Chief Magistrate's Court
- Busia CMCC No. 432 of 2014
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appellate jurisdiction under Section 78 of the Civil Procedure Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Gogni Rajope Construction Company v Dennis (Environment and Land Appeal E002 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 684 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Busia Environment and Land Court Appeal (from Busia CMCC No. 432 of 2014). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/684/eng@2025-02-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.