Koinange & 2 others v Mitithiru Company Limited (Environment and Land Case E333 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 7229 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court dismissed a review application, confirming that dissatisfaction with a ruling is a ground for appeal, not review.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether an internal tension in a ruling between paragraph 26 (suit ought to be struck out) and paragraph 27 (interrogate the disparity among co-administrators) constitutes an error apparent on the face of the record
No; the ruling reflected a deliberate assessment and any dissatisfaction amounts to appeal grounds, not review
The court re-read its own ruling and found it had deliberately declined to strike out the suit because it needed to interrogate the disparity among the co-administrators, whether the suit property formed part of the estate, and whether there was a larger conspiracy. The findings were conscious and reasoned, not inadvertent or self-evidently contradictory, so the review threshold was not met.
Whether the amended plaint filed without leave should be struck out
No; pleadings had not closed as no defence had been filed, so leave was not required, and fraud was already pleaded in the original plaint
Under Order 8 Rule 1 a party may amend without leave before pleadings close, and under Order 2 Rule 13 pleadings close on service of the defence. The defence was filed only on 27th June 2025, well after the 7th June 2024 amendment. Further, the original plaint already sought cancellation of the certificate of lease on grounds of fraudulently procured title, so fraud was not a new cause of action.
Legal principles established
#- A review may only be granted where the error is self-evident and does not require elaborate argument; an erroneous decision is a matter for appeal, not review
- Under Order 8 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules a party may amend pleadings without leave at any time before pleadings are closed, which closure requires a defence under Order 2 Rule 13
Court orders
#- 1.The Defendant's Notice of Motion dated 21st June 2024 seeking review of the order of 14th March 2024 and striking out of the amended plaint is dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 Rules 1 and Order 2 Rule 1(d) of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Koinange & 2 others v Mitithiru Company Limited (Environment and Land Case E333 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 7229 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Environment and Land Court Case No. E333 of 2022 (application dated 21st June 2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/7229/eng@2025-10-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.