Chepkwony v Cheluget (Commercial Case E638 of 2026) [2026] SCC 227 (KLR)

The court accepted that agreements to procure employment through bribery or improper influence are unenforceable under ex turpi causa non oritur actio. However, the Claimant's pleaded case alleges fraudulent misrepresentation by the Applicant as Head of Human Resource, presenting the Kshs.25,000 as a legitimate mandatory recruitment fee. Whether the Claimant knew the payment was meant to purchase influence, whether the representations were false, and whether the transaction was illegal are matters of evidence requiring trial and possible cross-examination.

Relying on Meya Agri Traders Ltd v Elgon House (2010) Ltd and D.T. Dobie & Company (Kenya) Limited v Joseph Mbaria Muchina & another, the court held that the jurisdiction must be exercised cautiously because summary striking out deprives parties of a full trial. A claim is not frivolous merely because the applicant thinks it unlikely to succeed, nor vexatious merely because the applicant disputes the facts. The power is meant to weed out plainly hopeless claims, not to decide contested factual questions.