Methodist Church in Kenya Trustees Registered & another v County Government of Tharaka Nithi & 6 others (Environment and Land Case E005 of 2024) [2026] KEELC 376 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan land court threw out the Methodist Church's injunction application because its amended court documents broke basic amendment rules.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Compliance of the second amended plaint with the procedural mode of amendment
The second amended plaint dated 26/8/2025 is defective because it was neither appropriately titled as a further amended plaint nor amended in the manner prescribed by Order 8 rule 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules
The court noted the pleading should ordinarily be a further amended plaint but was designated an amended plaint for unclear reasons. Order 8 rule 7 requires endorsement of the date and authority of amendment and marking of changes in red ink. The plaintiffs' pleading complied with none of these requirements, rendering it defective and unreliable as a foundation for interlocutory relief.
Whether an interlocutory application can be determined on its merits where it is anchored on defective pleadings
No - the court struck out the application without considering its merits because interlocutory relief must rest on proper pleadings
The court held that pleadings are central in land disputes and injunctive orders must be anchored on proper pleadings. Since the motion was expressly anchored on the defective second amended plaint, the court declined to delve into its merits and struck it out, reserving costs to the cause and scheduling a show-cause hearing on the fate of the defective plaint itself.
Legal principles established
#- Interlocutory injunctive relief must be anchored on proper pleadings
- A second amendment to a plaint must comply with Order 8 rule 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules, including endorsement and red-ink marking of amendments
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 26/8/2025 is struck out without venturing into its merits
- 2.Costs of the application shall be in the cause
- 3.The court will appoint a day when the plaintiffs will attend court to show cause why the defective amended plaint dated 26/8/2025 should not be struck out to pave way for disposal of the suit on the basis of the earlier amended plaint dated 28/1/2025
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original land and environment jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court (statutory basis not expressly cited in the ruling)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Methodist Church in Kenya Trustees Registered & another v County Government of Tharaka Nithi & 6 others (Environment and Land Case E005 of 2024) [2026] KEELC 376 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/376/eng@2026-01-29
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.