Kenya Airports Authority v Shabure & another (Miscellaneous Application 2 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 915 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to pause a land judgment because the applicant filed for a stay before actually filing any appeal — and waited nearly two years to act.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction to grant stay where no appeal exists
The court lacks jurisdiction to stay execution pending an intended appeal from a subordinate court where no appeal has been filed.
Order 42 Rule 6(1) presupposes an existing appeal; the exception under Rule 6(4) applies only to appeals to the Court of Appeal where a Notice of Appeal has been filed. Since the intended appeal here is from the subordinate court, Rule 6(4) is inapplicable and the application was filed in a vacuum.
Extension of time to appeal out of time
Extension refused: no period of delay isolated, no credible reasons offered, and the Applicant was indolent; prejudice to the 1st Respondent outweighed the Applicant's interest.
Applying the Supreme Court's Salat principles and Court of Appeal authority, the Applicant failed to account for a delay of 1 year and 8 months after the Section 79G window lapsed, and the 1st Respondent, whose land was compulsorily acquired without compensation, would suffer prejudice under Article 40(3).
Legal principles established
#- An application for stay of execution pending appeal can only be filed in an existing appeal, except where a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeal has been filed.
- Extension of time is discretionary and must be exercised judiciously, accounting for delay with credible reasons and sufficient cause.
- Equity does not aid the indolent; laches defeats late applications.
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 21st December 2023 is dismissed with costs to the 1st Respondent only
- On appeal from
- Chief Magistrate's Court, Isiolo
- Isiolo CMC No. 12 of 2018
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 79G and 95 of the Civil Procedure Act, Chapter 21, Laws of Kenya; Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Airports Authority v Shabure & another (Miscellaneous Application 2 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 915 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment (arising from Isiolo CMC No. 12 of 2018). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/915/eng@2025-02-12
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.