Shabeel Project Services Limited v Shabeel Project Services Limited & another (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E068 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 3374 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to disqualify a judge, ruling that granting interim orders shows judicial discretion, not bias.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the threshold for recusal was met
The application for recusal was dismissed; no actual or perceived bias was established from the issuance or extension of ex parte orders
The court applied the objective reasonable apprehension of bias test from R v David Makali, Jackson Mwalulu, Porter v Magill (via Tunoi) and Jasbir Rai, together with Regulation 21 of the Judicial Service (Code of Conduct and Ethics) Regulations 2020. Interim orders are discretionary and temporary; a dissatisfied party's remedy is set-aside or review, which the applicant did not pursue. The court had, by ruling of 8th December 2025, exercised discretion to determine the recusal application first. Actual or perceived bias was therefore not demonstrated.
Legal principles established
#- The grant of interim orders is an exercise of judicial discretion depending on the circumstances of each case and cannot be read as evidence of bias
- The test for recusal is objective: whether there is a reasonable ground for assuming the possibility of bias likely to create in the mind of a reasonable, fair-minded and informed member of the public a reasonable doubt about the fairness of the administration of justice
- A judge has a duty to sit absent valid grounds for recusal, to protect judicial independence against parties manoeuvring for strategic advantage
Court orders
#- 1.The notice of motion application dated 6th December 2025 seeking recusal is dismissed as without merit
- 2.Costs awarded to the Respondents
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original jurisdiction over the suit and an interlocutory application for recusal; test drawn from the Judicial Service (Code of Conduct and Ethics) Regulations 2020, Regulation 21(1)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Shabeel Project Services Limited v Shabeel Project Services Limited & another (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E068 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 3374 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). not_stated_in_judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/3374/eng@2026-06-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.