M’Aciuri & 2 others v M’naituli & another (Environment and Land Appeal E051 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 7592 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court struck out an appeal filed without the named appellants' consent, showing unauthorized appeals will not survive.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether an appeal disowned by two of the three joint appellants, filed without their instruction, should be struck out as an abuse of the process of the court
Key legal issues
#Whether the appeal should be struck out as an abuse of process
The appeal was struck out because two of the three joint appellants disowned it and the advocates on record failed to attend court to show cause why it should be sustained
The Attorney General disowned the appeal, stating the advocates were never instructed to lodge it. The court issued a notice to show cause, served on the advocates, who did not attend to explain. With two of three joint appellants disowning the appeal, the court found it an abuse of process and struck it out. Costs were withheld because responsibility for the filing could not be attributed to a specific appellant.
Legal principles established
#- An appeal filed without the instruction of the appellants on whose behalf it is lodged, and disowned by them, is an abuse of the process of the court and may be struck out
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is struck out for being an abuse of the process of the court
- 2.No award of costs due to lack of clarity on which of the three appellants was responsible
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appellate jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court (memorandum of appeal dated 14/12/2023; specific provision not stated in the judgment)
Relief refused
#Costs against any party
The court could not determine which of the three appellants was responsible for the filing of the unauthorized appeal
Costs
No costs awarded - each party to bear own costs as no order for costs was made
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
The advocates have not attended court to tender an explanation as to why the appeal, which has been disowned by two out of the three appellants, should be sustained. It is a joint appeal.
In the above circumstances, the appeal is struck out on the above ground. Due to lack of clarity on who out of the three appellants was responsible for this fiasco, there will be no award of costs.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment does not state the case number, the parties' full names, or the court/tribunal from which the appeal was brought, and no statutory basis for the appeal is cited
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "M’Aciuri & 2 others v M’naituli & another (Environment and Land Appeal E051 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 7592 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in judgment (Memorandum of Appeal dated 14/12/2023). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/7592/eng@2025-11-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.