Thuku v Muriithi & another (Environment and Land Appeal E025 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 7707 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court granted a partial stay of execution: the appellant must pay the principal awarded now, but the disputed Kshs.5 million interest claim waits until the appeal is decided.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the delay of over 11 months in bringing the application was explained
The delay was excused because the actual computation of the amount claimed, over Kshs.5 million, was a recent phenomenon
The judgment awarded interest at commercial rates from 2007 but the figures were unknown at the time of delivery. Execution via Dancy Auctioneers demanding Kshs.5,565,806/- plus fees arose recently, so the applicant could not have applied earlier; the respondent did not refute the proclamation.
What conditional stay terms would balance the parties' interests
A conditional stay was granted: the decretal sum of Kshs.752,027/- to be paid within 45 days while the disputed interest remains subject to the appeal
The crux of the appeal is the award of interest at commercial rates from 2007, which ballooned the demand to over Kshs.5 million. The ends of justice warrant staying execution on the interest, but there is no reason the principal sum should not be paid.
Legal principles established
#- The power to grant a stay of execution pending appeal is discretionary and requires sufficient cause, balancing the interests of both parties under Order 42 Rule 6
- A stay should be granted so that an appeal is not rendered nugatory, exercising discretion so as not to prevent an appeal
Court orders
#- 1.The applicant to pay the sum of Kshs.752,027/- to the respondent within 45 days from the date of the ruling
- 2.The respondent to avail to the applicant details of the account in which Kshs.752,027/- is to be deposited within 14 days from the date of the ruling, failing which the applicant may deposit the amount in court within the 45-day period
- 3.Stay of execution granted conditionally pending appeal
- 4.The costs of the application shall abide the outcome of the appeal
- On appeal from
- Nanyuki Chief Magistrate's Court (ELC)
- CM ELC No 109 of 2018
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules (stay of execution pending appeal)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Thuku v Muriithi & another (Environment and Land Appeal E025 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 7707 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Nanyuki CM ELC No 109 of 2018 (appeal) – Notice of Motion dated 18.9.2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/7707/eng@2025-11-06
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.