God's House of Miracles (Through National Officials Bishop Joshua Mulinge, Pastor Morrison Kareithi Mwangi) v Mwangi & 4 others; Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (KCB Limited) (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Case 127 of 2019) [2025] KEELC 5170 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether to allow the Plaintiffs to adduce additional evidence by way of a Supplementary List of documents dated 22nd November 2024
- 2.Whether to allow the Plaintiffs to file the witness statement of Simon Chege Kamangu dated 13th January 2025
Key legal issues
#Whether leave should be granted to call an additional witness (Simon Chege Kamangu) and file his witness statement at a late stage
Leave granted. Although the five-year delay in listing the witness was unexplained and wanting, the testimony does not alter the cause of action, the Plaintiffs' case is not yet closed, and the Defendants can cross-examine and respond; residual prejudice is compensable by costs.
The court applied extension-of-time principles from Salat and the additional-evidence principles from Odinga. It found the Plaintiffs knew of the witness from the outset and the delay from August 2019 to July 2024 was significant and poorly explained. However, the proposed statement does not alter the cause of action, the Plaintiffs had not closed their case, and the Defendants would have the opportunity to cross-examine and file responsive documents, with costs available to mitigate any prejudice.
Whether the handwritten agreement and minutes dated 5th August 2016 should be admitted despite challenges to authorship and admissibility
The documents are relevant to the dispute; questions of authenticity and admissibility are deferred to trial.
The court held that relevance is the threshold requirement, and the documents relate to events surrounding the execution of the 5th August 2016 agreement. Allegations that Simon Chege Kamangu signed the document can only be tested at trial, so admissibility under Section 35 of the Evidence Act would be argued and decided at trial rather than on this interlocutory application.
Legal principles established
#- A party seeking to adduce evidence outside the prescribed timelines bears the burden of explaining the delay and satisfying the court that the evidence is material and will not unduly prejudice the other side; the court retains discretion guided by the extension-of-time principles.
- Relevance must be established before admissibility; admissibility of a document may be determined at trial.
Court orders
#- 1.Leave granted to the Plaintiffs to adduce additional evidence by way of the Plaintiffs' 4th Supplementary List of documents dated 22nd November 2024, and the Plaintiff's Witness Statement of Simon Chege Kamangu dated 13th January 2025
- 2.The costs of the application to be in the cause
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 1A, 1B, 3 and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act; Order 11 Rule 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules; Article 159(2)(d) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
Leave be and is hereby granted to the Plaintifis herein to adduce additional evidence by way of the Plaintifis' 4th Supplementary List of documents dated 22nd November 2024, and the Plaintifi's Witness Statement of Simon Chege Kamangu dated 13th January 2025.
To file witness statements in 'instalments' is nothing but a travesty of justice and a practice of unleashing secret weapons when met with strong cases or keeping cards under the table for mischievous ends other than those of justice.
Under the Evidence Act, relevancy must be established before admissibility can be dealt with.
While the reasons advanced by the Plaintifis for failing to include Simon Chege Kamangu as a witness at the outset are wanting, this court has considered the proposed witness statement and the same does not propose to alter the cause of action.
Issues in the judgment
#Date of the Simon Chege Kamangu witness statement is inconsistently stated in the pleadings and prayer (13th January 2025 vs 22nd November 2024)
The name of the Interested Party appearing through Mr. Mugo is not disclosed anywhere in the judgment
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "God's House of Miracles (Through National Officials Bishop Joshua Mulinge, Pastor Morrison Kareithi Mwangi) v Mwangi & 4 others; Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (KCB Limited) (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Case 127 of 2019) [2025] KEELC 5170 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment excerpt. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/5170/eng@2025-07-10
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.