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ELCOtherNot stated in judgment· [2025] KEELC 3927 (KLR)

Chepwambok & another v Chepkemboi (Environment & Land Case 6 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 3927 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
21 May 2025
GOG M A Ongondo
559 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Environment and Land Court refused to throw out an unserved report, instead pausing testimony so the other side could get the document and prepare cross-examination.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This interlocutory ruling by the Environment and Land Court at Kapsabet (G M A Ongondo, Judge) determines an objection raised by the defendant's counsel, Mr Osewe, when No. 66583 PC James Mtiva (PW4) sought in examination-in-chief to refer to and produce a National Registration Bureau report dated 14th June 2018 (the NRB Report). PW4 had testified that the DCIO's report of 3rd August 2017, concerning identity cards allegedly used in a land sale agreement before an Eldoret court, refers to the NRB Report. Counsel for the defendant complained he had not been served with the NRB Report, which amounted to trial by ambush, and asked that PW4 confine himself to the DCIO Report in the plaintiffs' list of documents dated 7th February 2024. Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr Maritim, sought leave to supply the NRB Report and other extracts mentioned in the DCIO Report, with PW4 stood down. The court held that the defendant's counsel has an unlimited right to the requisite documents under Articles 25(c), 48 and 50(1) of the Constitution, applied the principle that the right to be heard is fundamental, and invoked sections 3 and 19 of the Environment and Land Court Act and sections 1A, 1B, 3 and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act. The objection was held to partially succeed: PW4 was stood down to 27th May 2025 for further hearing, and the plaintiffs' counsel was ordered to supply the defendant with all documents relating to the extracts and information in the DCIO Report the same day. No costs order was made.

Key legal issues

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Whether production of an unserved document (the NRB Report) through PW4 amounted to trial by ambush

Holding

The objection partially succeeded: the witness was stood down and the plaintiff ordered to supply the documents so the defendant could cross-examine, rather than the evidence being excluded

Reasoning

The court accepted that the DCIO Report in the plaintiffs' list of documents refers to NRB extracts. The defendant was entitled to those documents under constitutional fair-hearing guarantees. Rather than excluding the NRB Report, the court accommodated both the plaintiff's production of evidence and the defendant's right to test it by cross-examination, standing the witness down.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • A party has the right to be supplied with documents a witness intends to produce, grounded in fair hearing rights
  • The right to be heard is fundamental and permeates the entire justice system

Court orders

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  1. 1.PW4 is stood down to 27th day of May 2025 for further hearing
  2. 2.Learned counsel for the plaintiffs to supply the defendant's counsel with all documents relating to extracts and information indicated in the DCIO Report within today
Jurisdiction invoked
Sections 3 and 19 of the Environment and Land Court Act 2015 as read with sections 1A, 1B, 3 and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act (Chapter 21, Laws of Kenya)

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Chepwambok & another v Chepkemboi (Environment & Land Case 6 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 3927 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/3927/eng@2025-05-21

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.