Kiok v County Government of Kajiado (CECM for Lands, Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Development and Municipality) & 2 others (Judicial Review Application E006 of 2023) [2026] KEELC 4796 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Environment and Land Court dismissed a landowner's challenge against Kajiado County because he was relitigating a dispute courts had already decided.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Res judicata and abuse of process
The application was barred by res judicata and constituted an abuse of the court process because the ownership and allotment issues had been finally determined in Kajiado MC.CC No. 168 'B' of 2006, affirmed on appeal in Kajiado ELC Appeal No. E031 of 2022.
The court applied Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act and the conjunctive elements in IEBC v Maina Kiai, finding the legality of the allotment letters was directly and substantially in issue in the prior litigation. Invoking E.T v Attorney General, it held the Applicant could not evade the doctrine by framing the challenge to the 4th May 2023 notice as a new cause of action.
Mootness and spent substratum
The application was moot because the impugned notice had already been acted upon and the Applicant had not denied the assertion, making the orders sought incapable of being granted in the form sought.
The Respondents showed that the 14-day notice period lapsed on or about 18th May 2023, the allotment letters were cancelled and fresh allotments issued to the 2nd and 3rd Respondents. The Applicant did not contest this, so certiorari and prohibition could not issue.
Costs
Costs followed the event; the Applicant, whose suit was dismissed, was to pay the costs of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents.
Applying Section 27(1) of the Civil Procedure Act and Jasbir Singh Rai v Tarlochan Singh Rai, the court exercised its discretion on the ordinary 'costs follow the event' principle, awarding costs to the successful Respondents.
Legal principles established
#- Res judicata bars a litigant from relitigating, in another form, issues already finally determined between the same parties by a competent court, and applies to judicial review proceedings
- A litigant cannot evade res judicata by dressing up a concluded dispute as a new cause of action
- Abuse of court process extends beyond res judicata and includes misuse of process with an element of malice
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 17th May 2023 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the case awarded to the 2nd and 3rd Respondents
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010; Articles 47, 50(1) & 60 of the Constitution; Law Reform Act (Cap 26); Fair Administrative Actions Act (No. 4 of 2015)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kiok v County Government of Kajiado (CECM for Lands, Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Development and Municipality) & 2 others (Judicial Review Application E006 of 2023) [2026] KEELC 4796 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). ELCJR/E006/2023 (Judicial Review Application No. E006 of 2023). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/4796/eng@2026-07-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.