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ELCDismissedJudicial Review Notice of Motion dated 19th December, 2022· [2025] KEELC 5277 (KLR)

Mutuku v Deputy County Commissioner Kilungu & 2 others; Mutuku (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case E020 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 5277 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
15 July 2025
EOE. O. Obaga
3,675 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Exparte Applicant sought judicial review orders of certiorari and prohibition to quash and restrain implementation of the decision of the Deputy County Commissioner-Kilungu Subcounty, sitting as delegate of the Cabinet Secretary, Lands and Physical Planning and Urban Development, made on 20th September 2022 in Minister's Appeal No. 356 of 2012, allowing the Interested Party's appeal in respect of land parcels 1208 and 4595, Kalongo Land Adjudication Section, Makueni County. The dispute concerned the estate of Mutuku Kyui, recorded in the adjudication register as owner of 13 parcels before his death in 2005. A committee appointed under Section 6 of the Land Adjudication Act awarded the disputed parcels to Mulekye Mutuku; the Applicant did not complain within the statutory 14 days under Section 21, but in 2010 obtained a decision from the Adjudication Officer restoring the parcels to him. On appeal, the Minister reversed the Adjudication Officer. The Applicant argued the Atangwa clan was an entity unknown in law, that succession issues were wrongly usurped, and that the Minister failed to consider plot sizes. The court, applying the Pastoli test, held judicial review is concerned only with the decision-making process, not the merits. It found the committee was the statutory committee under Section 6, that the Applicant was afforded a hearing, and that no illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety was established; complaints about plot sizes and the afterthought finding went to the merits. The Notice of Motion dated 19th December 2022 was dismissed with costs to the Respondents and the Interested Party.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the Minister's decision was tainted with illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety

Holding

No. The adjudication process followed the Land Adjudication Act; the committee decision, the Adjudication Officer's decision and the Minister's decision were all made by bodies with jurisdiction and in accordance with the law. Complaints about merits (plot sizes, afterthought finding) fall outside judicial review.

Reasoning

The court held the committee appointed under Section 6 of the Land Adjudication Act lawfully determined the dispute, and although the Applicant delayed in objecting, the Adjudication Officer validly heard the objection. The Minister had jurisdiction on appeal. Complaints about the will, plot sizes and whether the appeal was an afterthought are matters of merit, not process, and hence outside the supervisory jurisdiction of judicial review.

p. 7

Legal principles established

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  • Judicial review is concerned with the decision-making process and not the merits of the decision
  • To succeed in judicial review, an applicant must show illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety

Court orders

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  1. 1.Dismissal of the Exparte Applicant's Notice of Motion dated 19th December, 2022
  2. 2.Costs to the Respondents and the Interested Party
Jurisdiction invoked
Judicial review jurisdiction over the decision of the Deputy County Commissioner sitting as delegate of the Cabinet Secretary, Lands and Physical Planning and Urban Development

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, "Mutuku v Deputy County Commissioner Kilungu & 2 others; Mutuku (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case E020 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 5277 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Judicial Review Notice of Motion dated 19th December, 2022. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/5277/eng@2025-07-15

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