Mugambi & Mugambi (Suing as the Legal Representatives of the Estate of the Late Raphael Mugambi - Deceased) & 3 others v Opiyo & 19 others (Environment and Land Case E018 of 2022) [2026] KEELC 3691 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court removed I & M Bank from a land suit and made the borrowers, not the bank, pay its costs because they never registered the discharge of charge.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the 19th defendant (I & M Bank Ltd) should be removed from the suit
- 2.Who should bear the 19th defendant's costs
Key legal issues
#Whether the Bank should be removed from the suit
The Bank was removed since the first limb of the application was not contested.
The Bank had been joined because the land register bore a charge in its favour. No party opposed its removal from the suit. The court found the first limb of the application uncontested and granted removal accordingly.
Who bears the Bank's costs
The 17th and 18th defendants (chargors) bear the Bank's costs.
The charge entry remained in the register because the chargors and the chargee failed to register a discharge. The chargors elected to say nothing on responsibility, and did not show they had repaid the loan, drawn, presented and registered a discharge. The court therefore held them responsible for the Bank's costs.
Legal principles established
#- Chargors bear responsibility for discharging a registered charge where they failed to repay the loan, draw, execute and register a discharge of charge, and thereby bear the chargee's costs of being joined in litigation.
Court orders
#- 1.M/s I & M Bank Limited [the 19th defendant] are hereby removed from this suit.
- 2.Costs of the 19th defendant shall be borne by the 17th and 18th defendants.
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original civil jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court over a suit concerning land and a registered charge
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
it was the responsibility of the duo to repay the loan, draw a discharge of charge, present the discharge of charge to the Bank for execution by the Bank and cause the discharge of charge to be registered
M/s I & M Bank Limited [the 19th defendant] are hereby removed from this suit.
Costs of the 19th defendant shall be borne by the 17th and 18th defendants.
Issues in the judgment
#The case title/number of the main suit is not stated in the extracted judgment text.
Internal date inconsistency: affidavit and application dated 30/5/2026 with judgment delivered 16 June 2026.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Mugambi & Mugambi (Suing as the Legal Representatives of the Estate of the Late Raphael Mugambi - Deceased) & 3 others v Opiyo & 19 others (Environment and Land Case E018 of 2022) [2026] KEELC 3691 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in judgment (Meru ELC suit; application dated 30/5/2026). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/3691/eng@2026-06-16
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.