Francis Kipkoech Lelei v Stephen Keino Tarus
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court confirmed that a wrong property description in a court decree can be corrected anytime under Section 99 without reopening the case.
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 decree issued on 19th April 2023 has errors arising therein from any accidental slip or omission that can be amended and/or rectified
- 2.Who shall bear the costs of the present application
Key legal issues
#Whether the wrong property description in the decree is an accidental slip correctable under Section 99
Yes - the discrepancy was an accidental slip or omission within Section 99, amenable to correction, since the pleadings, evidence and judgment consistently described the property as KONDOO SETTLEMENT SCHEME/487
The court perused the record and found the suit property was throughout referred to as LR. No. Kondoo Settlement Scheme/487. The applicant was not seeking reconsideration of the judgment or introduction of a different parcel; the correction was confined to the description in the decree. The decree's description was inconsistent with the property adjudicated upon, and no prejudice was shown to the respondent.
Costs of the application
Each party to bear its own costs, because the respondent, though served, did not participate in the application
The general rule is that costs follow the event under the proviso to section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act unless the court is satisfied otherwise. Since the respondent did not participate despite being served, the court departed from the general rule.
Legal principles established
#- Section 99 of the Civil Procedure Act permits correction of clerical or arithmetical mistakes and accidental slips at any time, but does not allow reopening or substantive alteration of a judgment
- An erroneous property description in a decree inconsistent with the property adjudicated upon is an accidental slip correctable under Section 99
Court orders
#- 1.The clerical error appearing in the Decree issued on 19th April 2023 is corrected
- 2.The description of the suit property in the Decree as 'Land Parcel No. Lainguse/Kiptega/Ol'leguise/487 at Kondoo' is deleted and substituted with 'LAND PARCEL NO. KONDOO SETTLEMENT SCHEME/487'
- 3.The Deputy Registrar of the Court is directed to issue an amended and corrected Decree reflecting the proper description of the suit property as LAND PARCEL NO. KONDOO SETTLEMENT SCHEME/487
- 4.Each party to bear its own costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 99 of the Civil Procedure Act, Cap 21 (slip rule)
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.
Consequently, the Notice of Motion Application dated 16th December 2025 is hereby allowed in the following terms:
The clerical error appearing in the Decree issued on 19th April 2023 is hereby corrected.
The Deputy Registrar of this Court is hereby directed to issue an amended and corrected Decree reflecting the proper description of the suit property as LAND PARCEL NO. KONDOO SETTLEMENT SCHEME/487.
The provision does not, however, confer upon the Court a power to reopen, reconsider or substantively alter a judgment under the guise of correcting an error.
While the absence of opposition does not, by itself, entitle an Applicant to the orders sought, it is a relevant consideration where the Court independently finds that the statutory threshold under Section 99 has been satisfied.
Issues in the judgment
#Inconsistent citation of the same East African authority
Delivery date of 2026 appears anomalous relative to application date of December 2025
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Francis Kipkoech Lelei v Stephen Keino Tarus", Case Analysis (2026). ELC Case No. 87 of 2019. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/5682/eng@2026-09-24
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.