Mukhwana v Sawenja & another (Environment and Land Case 60 of 2019) [2026] KEELC 3332 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court confirmed it can fix typing mistakes in judgments—like wrong names or parcel numbers—without reopening the whole case.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Scope of the slip rule under Section 99 of the Civil Procedure Act
The court may correct clerical mistakes, arithmetical mistakes, or errors arising from accidental slip or omission in judgments, orders or decrees, where the correction does not change the substance of the judgment.
Section 99 empowers the court to correct clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, orders or decrees, and Section 100 permits amendment of defects or errors in proceedings at any time. Drawing on the Outa and Rai authorities, the court held the slip rule exists to advance the administration of justice, not to reopen a decided matter. Here the errors in the party names and parcel number were self-evident on the pleadings and judgment, were undisputed, and their correction would not alter the substance of the judgment.
Whether the prior dismissed review application bars rectification (functus officio)
The functus officio objection fails because the earlier application, brought under Order 45 and Section 80, sought to set aside the judgment on new evidence and did not seek rectification of the names and parcel numbers.
The respondents argued the court was functus officio because a review application dated 6/11/2025 on similar grounds was dismissed on 4/2/2026. The court distinguished that application: it had sought to set aside the judgment based on new and important evidence while a notice of appeal was pending, and the court had not been asked to rectify errors in the description of the parties and parcel numbers as in the present application. The present Section 99/100 application was therefore competent.
Legal principles established
#- The slip rule is not intended to allow a losing party to relitigate or reopen a matter merely because such a party is unhappy with the outcome of the case.
- The slip rule is an essential means towards the administration of justice.
Court orders
#- 1.Correction of the errors on the titular heading of the judgment as to the names of the plaintiff and the 2nd defendant to reflect the amended plaint dated 1/3/2024 instead of 31/7/2019
- 2.Correction of the parcel number to read Kiminini/Kiminini Block 9 (Birunda Farm)/342 instead of Kiminini/Kiminini/Block 8(Birunda Farm)/343
- 3.No order as to costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 99 and Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Act (slip rule)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Mukhwana v Sawenja & another (Environment and Land Case 60 of 2019) [2026] KEELC 3332 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Application dated 18/2/2026 (Kitale ELC). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/3332/eng@2026-06-03
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.