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ELCStruck OutNotice of Motion dated 12th September 2024· [2025] KEELC 6287 (KLR)

Ereri Company Limited v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Lands & 2 others (Environment and Land Petition E009 of 2024) (Environment and Land) [2025] KEELC 6287 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
25 September 2025
MOM.C. Oundo
2,624 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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·~10 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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The Naivasha Environment and Land Court struck out a landowner's injunction application because some of the land parcels fell outside the court's geographical jurisdiction.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Applicant, said to own five large land holdings at Naivasha and Nanyuki, moved the Environment and Land Court at Naivasha by Notice of Motion dated 12th September 2024 seeking interim orders: a stay of all consequential processes flowing from Gazette Notice No. 7127 of 7th June 2024, by which the Registrar of Titles closed the land registers on conversion of the suit properties, and temporary injunctions restraining the Respondents from dealing with the properties or interfering with the Applicant's own subdivision process, pending hearing of a constitutional Petition. The Applicant contended that the closure was fraudulent, illegal and unprocedural because the head titles had never been surrendered, prior court orders in Nairobi HCCC No. 3200 of 1990 and decrees in Nakuru HCCC No. 220 of 2010 barred dealings, and the Chief Land Registrar had repeatedly directed that no titles be issued. Though served, the Respondents filed no response and the application proceeded unopposed by way of written submissions, in which the Applicant addressed the Giella v Cassman Brown interim-injunction thresholds, citing Mrao, Nguruman and other authorities. The court, however, raised the issue of territorial jurisdiction on its own motion: some suit parcels lie in Nanyuki District, outside the court's limits. Applying Section 12 of the Civil Procedure Act and the Court of Appeal's decision in Equity Bank v Bruce Mutie Mutuku, the court held that a suit filed where the court lacks territorial or pecuniary jurisdiction cannot be heard or transferred, and the overriding objective cannot cure the defect. Unable to sever the in-jurisdiction from the out-of-jurisdiction parcels, the court struck out both the application and the Petition with no costs, as the matter was undefended.

Key legal issues

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Territorial jurisdiction over land parcels partly within and partly outside the court's jurisdiction

Holding

The court lacks jurisdiction to grant injunctions over parcels situated outside its territorial limits, and cannot sever the matters; the entire application and Petition are struck out

Reasoning

Under Section 12 of the Civil Procedure Act, suits for relief respecting immovable property must be filed where the property is situated. Part of the suit land lies in Nanyuki District, outside the court's limits. Relying on Equity Bank Ltd v Bruce Mutie Mutuku, jurisdiction cannot be conferred by consent or cured by the overriding objective, and an incompetent suit cannot be transferred. The court cannot sieve the in-jurisdiction matter from the out-of-jurisdiction matter since parties are bound by their pleadings. The whole suit is therefore incurably defective.

p. 5

Legal principles established

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  • A suit filed in a court without pecuniary and/or territorial jurisdiction can neither be heard nor transferred by that court, and the overriding objective cannot cure a jurisdictional defect

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Application dated 12th September 2024 and the Petition are struck out
  2. 2.No costs, since the matter was undefended
Jurisdiction invoked
Articles 22(1), 23, 50, 60, 64 and 159(d) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010; Section 12 of the Civil Procedure Act (territorial jurisdiction considered)

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, "Ereri Company Limited v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Lands & 2 others (Environment and Land Petition E009 of 2024)  (Environment and Land) [2025] KEELC 6287 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of Motion dated 12th September 2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/6287/eng@2025-09-25

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