Sakayo v Registered Trustees of Africa Inland Church Riverside Wote (Through the Trustee) Alex Ndetei & another (Environment & Land Case E001 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 1398 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenyan courts will not order forensic examination of a disputed sale agreement unless you annex the actual disputed documents and build your own case.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the court should order forensic examination of two disputed versions of a sale agreement dated 6th April 2019
The application was dismissed because the disputed documents were never annexed and because ordering forensic examination would make the court an investigative agency assisting a party to build its case
The Applicant sought orders for production of the original agreement and forensic examination by the chief government document examiner, plus consequential expungement orders. The court noted the two disputed versions were not annexed even after the point was raised in the replying affidavit and a further affidavit filed. Relying on Bakari Juma Diwani and Ngatari -vs- Njue, the court held that pretrial discovery and gathering of evidence must be managed by the parties, and the court cannot descend into the arena. It further held that a document examiner's report is unnecessary to confirm an alteration the court can itself determine.
Legal principles established
#- A court in a civil suit cannot be turned into an investigative agency or assist a party to gather evidence; parties must manage their own pretrial discovery and present their own evidence
- A court does not require a document examiner's report to confirm a visible alteration of a document, though forgery of a signature may be different
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 2nd September 2024 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application awarded to the Respondent
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original civil suit jurisdiction (court not stated to derive it from a specific provision)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sakayo v Registered Trustees of Africa Inland Church Riverside Wote (Through the Trustee) Alex Ndetei & another (Environment & Land Case E001 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 1398 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/1398/eng@2025-03-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.