MPL. (Suing As the Mother Andnext friend Of L.L.L. – A Minor) v LL (Children's Case E002 of 2025) [2025] KEMC 162 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan magistrate ruled both parents equally responsible for their child: joint custody, shared costs, and a one-sided parental responsibility agreement worth nothing.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Legal representation of the defendant
Counsel was improperly on record for failing to file a notice of appointment; he had no right of audience and only his written submissions were struck out.
The defendant entered appearance in person and later instructed counsel who never lodged a notice of appointment under Order 9 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The court found counsel had no right of audience. Because the defendant's pleadings predated counsel's entry, they stood; only the submissions filed by the un-regularised advocate were struck out.
Legality and force of the parental responsibility agreement
The agreement was not binding as it was signed by only one party.
The defendant relied on a parental responsibility agreement executed in the presence of the Children's Officer, urging that courts cannot rewrite contracts. The court found the agreement had only been signed by one party (the defendant), the plaintiff having refused to sign, so it bound no one and nothing flowed from it.
Share of parental responsibility and custody
Parental responsibility is joint and equal; monthly maintenance of Kshs 10,500 is shared 50:50, with joint legal custody and physical custody moving to the father during the mother's prisons training.
Both parties conceded joint and shared responsibility under sections 31 and 32 of the Children's Act, 2022. The defendant's loan-taking to frustrate deductions did not diminish his legal responsibility since he took the loan knowing his subsisting parental duties. The court assessed Kshs 10,500 as reasonable monthly needs, halved it, and rearranged physical custody on account of the mother's recruitment as a Prisons Service constable, taking judicial notice that infants are not permitted at the prisons college during training.
Legal principles established
#- Counsel who has not filed a notice of appointment is improperly on record and has no right of audience
- A parental responsibility agreement signed by only one party is not binding
- Parents have equal parental responsibility and neither has a superior right over the other
Court orders
#- 1.Written submissions filed by Mr. Mbugua, who did not regularize his appearance, struck out; defendant's earlier pleadings remain unaffected
- 2.The parental responsibility agreement, signed by only one party, is not binding and nothing flows from it
- 3.The pleaded sum of Kshs 10,500 being the monthly needs of the child shall be shared 50:50, with the father ordered to pay Kshs 5,250 per month
- 4.Legal custody shall be joint
- 5.Actual physical custody of the minor shall be with the father during the 9 months the mother undergoes training at the Kenya Prisons Service College
- 6.Actual custody shall revert to the mother once she completes training and is deployed, with the parties returning to court for the orders to be effected
- 7.Joint and equal sharing of the minor's school fees and school related expenses once the minor attains school going age
- 8.The father shall retain the child in the Mtiba medical cover
- 9.Payment of the Kshs 5,000 (5,250) is suspended till the plaintiff completes her prison service training and the parties return to court for effectuation
- 10.Each party to bear his/her own costs
- 11.Right of appeal is 30 days
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original jurisdiction over the minor's custody and maintenance under the Children's Act, 2022
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "MPL. (Suing As the Mother Andnext friend Of L.L.L. – A Minor) v LL (Children's Case E002 of 2025) [2025] KEMC 162 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Plaint dated 11th February, 2025 (suit number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kemc/2025/162/eng@2025-07-17
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.