Kuronoi v Jitahidi Milele Investment Limited & 5 others (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application E018 of 2024) (Environment and Land) [2025] KEELC 6578 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Naivasha land court allowed a man who missed his appeal deadline to appeal anyway, and blocked any sale of his disputed land until the appeal is decided.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether to enlarge time for filing an appeal under the proviso to Section 79G of the Civil Procedure Act
Leave to appeal out of time was granted; the delay was found excusable, occasioned by counsel filing the memorandum of appeal in the High Court instead of the ELC, and no prejudice was demonstrated by the Respondents.
The court applied the Salat principles on extension of time. It found the applicant explained the delay: the memorandum was inadvertently filed in the High Court, transferred, then struck out for want of jurisdiction; certified copies took time to obtain. Since no evidence of prejudice by the Respondents was shown and the equities favoured the applicant, the discretion was exercised in his favour.
Whether orders of inhibition should issue over Land Parcel No. Naivasha/Moi-Ndabi/866 pending the intended appeal
Inhibition orders were granted because the applicant had been physically removed after nearly thirty years in possession and the property, registered in the 1st Respondent's name, risked alienation which would pre-emptively extinguish the appeal.
Relying on Section 68 of the Land Registration Act and Joseph Mumita Kipees, the court considered whether the property was at risk, whether refusal would render the appeal nugatory, and whether there was an arguable case. The applicant's long possession, eviction by the Respondent's directors, and risk of transfer to third parties tilted the equities in his favour.
Legal principles established
#- Extension of time is an equitable remedy available only to a deserving party at the discretion of the court, and the applicant bears the burden of explaining the delay.
- An applicant seeking an appeal to be admitted out of time under the proviso to Section 79G must file the appeal and simultaneously seek leave; the court will not admit a non-existent appeal out of time.
- Under Section 68 of the Land Registration Act, the court may inhibit registration of dealings with land for a particular time, until a particular event, or until further order, to preserve the integrity of the land register.
- For inhibition orders, the applicant must show the property is at risk of disposition/alienation, that refusal would render the suit nugatory, and that the applicant has an arguable case.
Court orders
#- 1.Extension of time granted to the Applicant to file his appeal after the expiry of the statutory period
- 2.The Applicant shall within 30 days from the date of the ruling compile, file and serve upon the Respondents a complete record of appeal, failure to which the window granted to file the Appeal shall automatically lapse
- 3.The substratum of the appeal shall be preserved until the Appeal is heard and determined (orders of inhibition over Land Parcel No. Naivasha/Moi-Ndabi/866)
- 4.Costs will be in the cause
- On appeal from
- Naivasha Chief Magistrate's Court
- Naivasha Chief Magistrate Misc. ELC Application No. E016 of 2023
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 1A, 1B, 3A of the Civil Procedure Act Cap 21 Laws of Kenya, Section 79G proviso, Section 68 of the Land Registration Act, and Articles 40 and 159 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kuronoi v Jitahidi Milele Investment Limited & 5 others (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application E018 of 2024) (Environment and Land) [2025] KEELC 6578 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELC Miscellaneous Case No. E009 of 2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/6578/eng@2025-10-02
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.