Sheria Na Haki Human Rights Institute v Noor & 10 others (Constitutional Petition E003 of 2023) [2026] KEELC 2247 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court in Mombasa dismissed a review application, confirming that disagreements over a judge's legal reasoning belong in an appeal, not a review.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether there is a mistake or error apparent on the face of the record in the Ruling of 4th July 2025
There is no such error; the Applicant was complaining that the court proceeded on an incorrect expansion of the law, which is not a ground for review.
The court found that the Applicant's real grievance was that the court had misapprehended the law in declining to find the Petition res judicata. Citing National Bank of Kenya v Ndung'u Njau and Pancras T. Swai v Kenya Breweries, the court held that faulting a decision on a point of law is a ground for appeal, not review, since review would circumvent appellate jurisdiction.
Whether a party who declared a matter sub judice earlier can convert that finding into res judicata on review
No; a finding that a matter is sub judice does not of itself warrant a subsequent declaration of res judicata, and the prior Ruling had already found the parties and subject matter not shown to be the same.
The court noted that in the Ruling of 4th July 2025 it had found the Applicant failed to demonstrate that the plaintiffs in Mombasa ELC No. 11 of 2022 (OS) instructed the Petitioner, and that the parties and subject matter were not established to be the same. The Applicant's assumption that a sub judice finding should lead to res judicata was unfounded.
Legal principles established
#- A review must be confined to the scope of Order 45 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules; faulting a decision on a point of law is a ground for appeal, not review
- An error apparent on the face of the record must be self-evident and not require elaborate argument; where another view is possible there is no such error
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 30th July 2025 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application awarded to the Petitioner
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010 (review jurisdiction)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sheria Na Haki Human Rights Institute v Noor & 10 others (Constitutional Petition E003 of 2023) [2026] KEELC 2247 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment (Mombasa Petition). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2247/eng@2026-04-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.