Chelagat v Kemboi (Environment & Land Miscellaneous Case E009 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 1009 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court moved a land dispute out of the magistrate's court because adverse possession claims belong there, saving parties from duplicate suits.
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 for transfer of Kapsabet Cmelc No. 32 of 2019 Kiprotich Arap Kemboi -vs- Sally Chelagat from the Chief Magistrate's Court at Kapsabet to the Environment and Land Court at Kapsabet is merited
Key legal issues
#Whether the cause should be transferred from the Chief Magistrate's Court to the Environment and Land Court
The application was found merited and the cause was transferred in terms of the prayers sought.
The applicant, defendant in the magistrate's court cause, had pleaded adverse possession over parcel Nandukombe/275 in her defence and counterclaim and preliminary objection. She sought transfer to avoid filing a duplicate suit at the Environment and Land Court over the same subject matter and parties. The court, guided by the Civil Procedure Act, the Environment and Land Court Act and Article 159(2)(b), and considering the grounds and the ends of justice, found the application merited. There was no response from the respondent.
Legal principles established
#- Where a cause before a magistrate's court raises claims of adverse possession over land falling within the jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court, the ends of justice favour transferring the cause to that court to avoid a duplicate suit
Court orders
#- 1.Kapsabet Cmelc No. 32 of 2019 Kiprotich Arap Kemboi -vs- Sally Chelagat filed in the Chief Magistrate's Court at Kapsabet is transferred to the Environment and Land Court of Kenya at Kapsabet
- 2.Costs of the application provided for in the cause
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 18 of the Civil Procedure Act (Cap 21), sections 3, 13 and 19 of the Environment and Land Court Act 2015 (2011) and Article 159(2)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010
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.
By the grounds of the application and in the ends of justice, I find the application merited.
A fortiori, the suit at Kapsabet Chief Magistrate’s court is hereby transferred in terms of prayers 2 and 3 of the application as set out in paragraph 1 (a) and (b) hereinabove.
It is so ordered.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Chelagat v Kemboi (Environment & Land Miscellaneous Case E009 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 1009 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of Motion dated 10th February 2025 (transfer application). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/1009/eng@2025-03-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.