Skip to content
AI-generated case briefs sourced from Kenya Law · Not legal advice
Caselaw
AI-generated case brief
Case Brief · caselaw.co.ke
ELCOtherELCLC/E646/2025· [2026] KEELC 2667 (KLR)

Ebrahim & Company Limited v Gichombe t/a Kagich Investments & another (Environment and Land Case E646 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2667 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
6 May 2026
MKMOHAMMED N. KULLOW
2,567 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~10 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

#

The Environment and Land Court ordered both sides in a lease dispute over burnt-out Wazir House to keep the property as it is until trial.

What this practically means

#

Executive summary

#
This ruling by the Environment and Land Court at Milimani (Kullow, J.) determined two competing interlocutory applications arising from a lease dispute over L.R. No. 209/593 (Wazir House), Moi Avenue, Nairobi. The parties were bound by a lease dated 31st January 2019 for a term of ten years and six months, due to run to August 2029. On 6th January 2024 the premises were destroyed by fire. The Plaintiff, as lessor, sought an injunction restraining the Defendants from entering, interfering with or constructing on the property, and access to complete repairs it had undertaken at an estimated Kshs. 60 million, alleging the fire was caused by the Defendants' sub-tenants' negligence. The Defendants, as lessees, sought an injunction restraining the Plaintiff from alienating or dealing with the property, asserting a subsisting leasehold interest and investments of over Kshs. 50 million in goodwill, deposit and renovations. The court framed a single issue: whether the parties met the threshold for interlocutory injunctive relief. Applying Giella v Cassman Brown and the Mrao definition of a prima facie case, the court held that liability for the fire and the parties' lease obligations were serious triable issues to be resolved at trial, and that a prima facie case existed warranting preservation of the property. Finding the subject matter unique and damages potentially inadequate, and guided by the lower risk of injustice, the court ordered that the status quo on the ground be maintained pending the hearing of the suit, declining to grant either party's specific injunctive orders, with each party bearing its own costs.

Key legal issues

#
01

Whether the parties met the Giella threshold for interlocutory injunctive relief

Holding

Both parties raised serious triable issues on a subsisting lease and the fire damage; a prima facie case existed warranting preservation of the property, and the status quo was maintained rather than granting either party's specific injunctions

Reasoning

It was common ground that a lease dated 31st January 2019 bound the parties and that fire destroyed the premises on 6th January 2024. Liability for the fire, lease obligations and rights to possession were contested and reserved for trial. Both parties asserted proprietary/leasehold interests, the subject matter was unique and damages might not compensate, so preservation of the status quo carried the lower risk of injustice.

p. 10

Legal principles established

#
  • Prima facie case test per Mrao Ltd v First American Bank
  • At interlocutory stage the court makes no final findings on contested issues
  • Where the court is in doubt, the course carrying the lower risk of injustice should be adopted

Court orders

#
  1. 1.That the status quo obtaining on the ground with respect to the suit property known as L.R. No. 209/593 be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the suit
  2. 2.That each party shall bear its own costs of the two applications
Jurisdiction invoked
Article 40(1) of the Constitution; Sections 14 and 145 of the Land Act; Order 40 of the Civil Procedure Rules; Sections 1A and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act

Key timeline

#

Practical implications

#

Frequently asked questions

#

Cite this brief

#

Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Ebrahim & Company Limited v Gichombe t/a Kagich Investments & another (Environment and Land Case E646 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2667 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). ELCLC/E646/2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2667/eng@2026-05-06

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.