Chumo (Suing as Legal Representative of the Estate of the Late Kipsigei Arap Cheplel alias Elijah Kipsigei Cheplel) v Chumo (Environment & Land Case E005 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 4741 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court dismissed an attempt to strike out a land dispute suit, ruling that a case filed in the wrong court cannot block a properly filed one.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the present suit offends Section 6 of the Civil Procedure Act (sub judice) and amounts to an abuse of process
No. The doctrine of sub judice does not apply where the previously instituted suit is pending before a court lacking pecuniary jurisdiction to grant the relief claimed.
The Supreme Court's four requirements for sub judice were applied. Although two suits over the same subject matter between the same parties were pending, the earlier suit (Kericho CM ELC No. 003 of 2018) was filed before a Magistrates' Court lacking pecuniary jurisdiction, as the suit parcel is valued at Kshs. 46,000,000/=. Following Opande v Liverpool Voluntary Counseling & Testing, a suit filed before a court without jurisdiction cannot trigger Section 6 against a properly filed suit. The court noted the Plaintiff had not withdrawn the earlier suit despite awareness since 2020, but held it was for the Defendant to deal with that suit.
Whether the disparity between the orders sought (want of jurisdiction and abuse of process) and submissions (sub judice) was fatal
No. Sub judice was a ground on the face of the application and was premised on the jurisdiction question, so the court determined the matter on sub judice and its bearing on jurisdiction.
The court observed that the application attacked the Court's jurisdiction on the basis that the suit was sub judice. Citing Republic v Director of Criminal Investigations & another; Nairobi House Limited, it accepted that a violation of sub judice may ground a jurisdictional challenge, and therefore reconciled the grounds and submissions by deciding the sub judice question and its jurisdictional consequence.
Legal principles established
#- A suit pending in a court lacking jurisdiction (subject matter, pecuniary or geographical) cannot found a sub judice objection against a suit properly filed in a competent court
- To invoke sub judice, a party must establish more than one suit over the same subject matter, sequential filing, pendency before courts of competent jurisdiction, and same parties or their representatives
Court orders
#- 1.The Defendant/Applicant's Notice of Motion application dated 13th June, 2024 is dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2) of the Constitution (Environment and Land Court) - the judgment invokes the Court's jurisdiction; the application was under Sections 1A, 1B & 3A of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 2 Rule 15 and Order 51 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Chumo (Suing as Legal Representative of the Estate of the Late Kipsigei Arap Cheplel alias Elijah Kipsigei Cheplel) v Chumo (Environment & Land Case E005 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 4741 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Kericho ELC (case number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/4741/eng@2025-06-26
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.