African Gas and Oil Limited & another v Kahia Transporters Limited & 6 others; County Government of Mombasa & 4 others (Interested Parties); Kahia (Contemnor) (Environment and Land Case E012 & E004 of 2023 (Consolidated)) [2026] KEELC 1285 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Environment and Land Court in Mombasa dismissed a contempt claim because the court orders were never personally served on the company's officers.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the orders of 6th September 2023 were properly served on the 1st Respondent and its director
Service was not proved; there was no evidence of service on the Secretary or any director of the 1st Respondent, and service on its advocates did not constitute personal service
The court applied Order 48 Rule 2 and Order 5 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the Nyamogo decision stressing personal service. The process server left documents with a receptionist and served the applicant's advocates; no officer of the company was personally served. Without personal service on an officer, contempt proceedings against the company or its director could not be sustained.
Whether the Applicant proved wilful and deliberate disobedience to the required standard
No; the Applicant failed to adduce cogent or credible evidence, such as the engineers' report, that the 1st Respondent breached the injunction after the orders were issued
The orders did not require eviction of the 1st Respondent, which held a title to the suit property issued in 2017. The allegations of boundary marking, dumping debris and eviction of workers were unsupported: the engineers' report was not annexed, and the medical report and police OB made no mention of the 1st Respondent or its officers. The threshold and standard of proof for contempt were not met.
Legal principles established
#- To succeed in civil contempt the applicant must prove the terms of the order, knowledge of those terms by the respondent, and failure to comply; willfulness and bad faith are then inferred unless rebutted on a balance of probabilities
- The standard of proof in contempt proceedings is higher than the balance of probabilities, almost but not exactly beyond reasonable doubt
- An order of court requiring a person to do or abstain from doing an act may not be enforced unless a copy has been served personally on the person required to obey it; where the order is against a company, an officer may only be proceeded against if personally served
- Every person against whom an order is made is under a plain and unqualified obligation to obey it unless and until it is discharged
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 4th October 2024 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application are awarded to the 1st Respondent
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 5 of the Judicature Act; Section 29 of the Environment and Land Court Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "African Gas and Oil Limited & another v Kahia Transporters Limited & 6 others; County Government of Mombasa & 4 others (Interested Parties); Kahia (Contemnor) (Environment and Land Case E012 & E004 of 2023 (Consolidated)) [2026] KEELC 1285 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Notice of Motion dated 4th October 2024 (main suit number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/1285/eng@2026-03-05
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.