Woche (Suing as the legal administrator of the Estate of Woche Imala - Deceased) v Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court Moyale; Sode (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Miscellaneous Application E001 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 760 (KLR)

Order 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Sections 8 and 9 of the Law Reform Act confine judicial review to the traditional prerogative writs. The court relied on Republic vs Geoffrey Gathenji and Kenya National Examination Council to hold that an applicant cannot seek a temporary injunction under judicial review. The remedy of injunction lies in ordinary civil suits, not judicial review applications.

The primary pleadings in judicial review are the statement of facts and verifying affidavit, which capture the reliefs to be canvassed. Here the statement of facts sought only certiorari and did not seek an injunction. Seeking an injunction would breach the doctrine of departure under Order 2 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, per Dakianga Distributors and IEBC vs Mutinda Mule.

The suit property was adjudged to belong to the interested party by the Senior Resident Magistrates Court. That judgment was neither quashed, set aside nor appealed, and under Section 44 of the Evidence Act operates as a judgment in rem conferring legal rights and interests. Granting an injunction would indirectly set aside the judgment without a conventional appeal.

Applying Mrao Ltd vs First American Bank of Kenya and KCB Finance Ltd vs Afraha Education Institute, the court held that for as long as the impugned judgment stands, the applicant has no demonstrable rights or interests over the suit property, and in the absence of a prima facie case a temporary injunction cannot issue.