Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission v Ahmed & 7 others; Mombasa County Government (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Case E005 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 5788 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court in Mombasa ruled that a sub judice objection cannot be decided without examining evidence, so such objections rarely succeed as pure legal points.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether a preliminary objection on sub judice (Section 6, Civil Procedure Act) is merited
Not merited; sub judice requires examination of pleadings and evidence and is not a pure point of law.
The court applied Mukisa Biscuits on the definition of a preliminary objection and held that determining whether the rule of sub judice is offended requires delving into the pleadings of the pending suit to compare facts and issues, which takes the matter outside the ambit of a preliminary objection. It relied on Margaret Wachu Karuri v John Waweru Ribiro, where the court held that a preliminary objection cannot be raised on disputed facts.
Costs of the preliminary objection
No order as to costs, despite the general rule that costs follow the event, because the plaintiff did not participate in the objection.
The court acknowledged that costs are discretionary and ordinarily follow the event per Section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act and Hussein Janmohamed & Sons v Twentsche Overseas Trading Co. Ltd. However, since the plaintiff did not file submissions or participate in canvassing the objection, the court exercised its discretion to make no order as to costs.
Legal principles established
#- Sub judice, like res judicata, requires probing of evidence and pleadings and therefore cannot be raised as a pure point of law by way of preliminary objection.
Court orders
#- 1.The 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th defendant's notice of preliminary objection dated 21.02.2025 is overruled with no order as to costs.
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Not expressly stated; decision on preliminary objection under Section 6 of the Civil Procedure Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission v Ahmed & 7 others; Mombasa County Government (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Case E005 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 5788 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). . Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/5788/eng@2025-07-31
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.