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ELCStruck OutNot stated in judgment· [2026] KEELC 3516 (KLR)

Githinji v Kiruki ( Sued as the Administrator of the Estate of Ann Murima Nderitu - Deceased) & another (Environment and Land Appeal E005 of 2024) [2026] KEELC 3516 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
28 May 2026
MKMugo Kamau
458 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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A Kenyan land appeal was struck out with costs because the appellant filed an incomplete Record of Appeal missing key documents, so the court could not rule on the merits.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This Environment and Land Court judgment at Nyandarua, delivered by Mugo Kamau J on 28 May 2026, dealt with an appeal whose Record of Appeal was incomplete. The court found that Volume 1 of the record did not contain the first part of the appeal; the pagination ran from page 1 to page 13 and then jumped to page 84, meaning some 71 pages - most of the pleadings from the lower court - were missing. The last pleading available was the Further Amended Plaint, followed by a Verifying Affidavit and the Defence to the 1st Defendant's Counter-claim; the Defence and Counter-claim themselves were absent, and the record appeared to contain only the Appellant's pleadings and none from the Respondents. Documents from pages 84 to 117 could not be identified. The court noted it had raised the incompleteness with the Appellant's counsel, Mr Maina Kairu, on three occasions, being twice assured the hard copy had been filed when it had not been. Holding that it could not write a judgment on insufficient or incomplete material, the court struck out the appeal with costs. No authorities or statutes were cited and no issues on the merits were determined; the disposition was purely procedural.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the Appeal should proceed on an incomplete Record of Appeal

Holding

The Appeal was struck out because the record was incomplete and the court could not properly consider the appeal

Reasoning

The court found the record lacked the first part of the appeal, ran from page 1 to 13 then jumped to page 84, missing 71 pages containing most of the lower court pleadings. The Defence and Counter-claim were absent, and the record appeared to contain only the Appellant's pleadings. The court had raised the incompleteness with the Appellant's counsel three times without the record being completed. It therefore could not write a judgment.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • An appeal cannot be determined where the Record of Appeal is incomplete, as the court cannot comprehend the merits of the appeal

Court orders

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  1. 1.Appeal struck out for lack of sufficient or incomplete material
  2. 2.Costs of the appeal awarded
On appeal from
Lower Court (magistrates' court, not named in judgment)
not stated
Jurisdiction invoked
Appellate jurisdiction over the lower court matter as filed (specific provision not stated in judgment)

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Githinji v Kiruki ( Sued as the Administrator of the Estate of Ann Murima Nderitu - Deceased) & another (Environment and Land Appeal E005 of 2024) [2026] KEELC 3516 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/3516/eng@2026-05-28

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