Noor v Mutai & 3 others (Land Case E002 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 4141 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The High Court in Kapsabet allowed a plaintiff who couldn't find the defendant to serve court summons through a newspaper advertisement instead.
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 leave to serve the 1st defendant by substituted service is meritorious
Key legal issues
#Whether leave for substituted service should be granted
Application allowed; plaintiff granted leave to advertise summons in a local circulating daily
The court applied the principle that a defendant must be made aware of proceedings, and that substituted service is available where personal service is impossible. The supporting affidavit showed the plaintiff could not trace the 1st defendant, whose whereabouts and last residence were unknown, making ordinary service futile.
Legal principles established
#- A party to a case must be made aware of its existence to enable that party to respond or not
- Where summons cannot be served in the ordinary way, personal service, a party may be served by substituted service
Court orders
#- 1.Leave granted to the plaintiff to serve the 1st defendant/Respondent through substituted service by advertising the Summons in one of the local circulating dailies
- 2.Costs of the application to be in the cause
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 5 Rule 17 of the Civil Procedure Rules 2010; sections 1A and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act (Chapter 21, Laws of Kenya)
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.
A fortiori, the application dated 17th February 2025, be and is hereby allowed in terms of orders 1 and 2 sought therein
It is established law that a party to a case must be made aware of it’s existence to enable that party to either respond to it or not
Issues in the judgment
#The 1st defendant/respondent is never named anywhere in the judgment
Suit case number not stated in the judgment
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Noor v Mutai & 3 others (Land Case E002 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 4141 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the extract (Notice of Motion dated 17th February 2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/4141/eng@2025-05-26
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.