Njoki Njogu & Company Advocates v Kenyan Insurance Company Ltd (Miscellaneous Civil Application E873 of 2025) [2026] KEHC 8818 (KLR) (Civ) (28 May 2026) (Ruling) Neutral citation: [2026] KEHC 8818 (KLR) REPUBLIC OF KENYA IN THE HIGH COURT AT NAIROBI (MILIMANI LAW COURTS) CIVIL MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL APPLICATION E873 OF 2025 SIFUNA NIXON, J MAY 28, 2026 BETWEEN NJOKI NJOGU & COMPANY ADVOCATES ...................................... APPLICANT AND THE KENYAN INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED ..................... RESPONDENT RULING 1. This is a ruling on the Applicant’s Application dated 5th September 2025. By which the Applicant who is an Advocate, is seeking judgment against her client the Respondent, for the sum of Ksh 166,996=. Which she has stated is pursuant to a Certificate of Taxation; and which she has stated are her taxed Advocate-Client costs. 2. The Application is brought under Section 51 (2) of the Advocates Act (Cap 16 Laws of Kenya), and is supported by the Applicant’s Supporting Affidavit sworn on 5th September 2025. 3. I have considered the Application. Although it is an unopposed, it must be determined on merit, and has to meet the legal threshold for an Application of this nature. 4. Upon perusing the Application, I find that prayer (1), which is the principal prayer, has merely mentioned and alluded to a Certificate of Taxation. But has neither stated the date of the Certificate, nor the name of Taxing Officer that issued it. These are material omissions that go to the root of the Application, and render that prayer ungrantable. 5. In litigation, a party is bound by its pleadings, and the court can neither read into a pleading what it does not contain nor into a prayer, what it has not expressly stated. Besides, a Supporting Affidavit is for merely supporting the Application, hence can neither substitute nor supplement the Application. This is in the sense that an affidavit is merely evidence and not a pleading. https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2026/8818/eng@2026-05-28 1
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6. For the above reasons, this Application fails, and is hereby dismissed with no order as to costs. But with leave to the Applicant to file a fresh one, is compliant and legally sufficient in material particulars. DATED AND DELIVERED AT NAIROBI VIRTUALLY ON THIS 28TH DAY OF MAY, 2026. PROF (DR) NIXON SIFUNA JUDGE https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2026/8818/eng@2026-05-28 2
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