Rotich & another v Serem & another (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Case E029 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 5182 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Environment and Land Court in Kapsabet dismissed a land case transfer application as an abuse of process because a similar matter was already decided.
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 application dated 23rd September 2025 seeking transfer of Chief Magistrate's Court Kapsabet Land Case No. E069 of 2022 to the Environment and Land Court has merit
- 2.Whether the application, in light of the related matter Kapsabet ELCLMISC No. E001 of 2026 already determined by the court, amounts to an abuse of the court process
Key legal issues
#Whether a transfer application amounting to a parallel suit on the same subject matter is an abuse of court process
The application was an abuse of the court process and was dismissed; the case was closed
The court noted that a related matter, Kapsabet ELCLMISC No. E001 of 2026, involving some of the parties and the same subject matter, had already been determined by its ruling of 19th March 2026. Relying on Kiura Kithiuru vs Charles Muriuki Muchira, where a parallel suit on the same subject matter led to dismissal, and Leitich vs Mwangi on multiplicity as abuse of process, the court found the application had no merit and must fail.
Legal principles established
#- Multiplicity of actions in the same matter between the same parties, even where a right to bring an action exists, is an abuse of the court process
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 23rd September 2025 is dismissed with no orders as to costs
- 2.The instant case is closed accordingly
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Environment and Land Court's power to receive and determine matters transferred from the Magistrate's Court (transfer application under the Notice of Motion dated 23rd September 2025)
Relief refused
#Transfer of Chief Magistrate's Court Kapsabet Land Case No. E069 of 2022 from the Magistrate's Court at Kapsabet to the Environment and Land Court
The application was found to be an abuse of the court process, having been instituted in parallel with Kapsabet ELCLMISC No. E001 of 2026 involving some of the parties and the same subject matter
Costs
Dismissed with no orders as to costs, being guided by Jasbir Singh Rai and 3 others vs Tarlochan Rai and 4 others (2014) eKLR
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.
The multiplicity of actions in the same matter between the same parties even where there exists a right to bring an action is regarded as an abuse of the court process. The abuse is in the multiplicity and manner of the exercise of the right
Thus, the application dated 23rd September 2025, be and is hereby dismissed with no orders as to costs being guided by Jasbir Singh Rai and 3 others vs Tarlochan Rai and 4 others (2014) eKLR.
In the foregone, I find the application an abuse of the court process and must fail.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Rotich & another v Serem & another (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Case E029 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 5182 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Kapsabet ELCL MISC. E029 of 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/5182/eng@2026-08-05
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.