Republic v Minister for Land and Settlement & another; Supeyo & another (Ex parte Applicant); Mpaayei & 2 others (Interested Parties) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case 31 of 2020) [2025] KEELC 6459 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court struck out a land dispute case because the widow and children had no letters of administration to sue for their late father's estate.
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 Ex parte Applicants have the requisite locus standi to institute and maintain the judicial review proceedings on behalf of the estate of the late Ita Ole Supeyo
Key legal issues
#Whether the widow and children of the deceased original appellant could maintain judicial review proceedings without letters of administration
They could not; the application was struck out for want of locus standi
The court held that locus standi goes to the root of jurisdiction. For a deceased person's estate, capacity is conferred exclusively on personal representatives holding a grant under Section 82(a) of the Law of Succession Act. Although the Applicants' relationship to the deceased was acknowledged, they produced no grant. The absence of legal capacity, despite any sufficient interest, rendered the proceedings a nullity, akin to a court acting without jurisdiction.
Legal principles established
#- Locus standi to sue on behalf of a deceased person's estate is conferred exclusively on personal representatives with a grant of letters of administration; proceedings instituted without such a grant are a nullity notwithstanding a genuine grievance.
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 25th June 2003 is struck out
- 2.Each party shall bear its own costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 8 and 9 of the Law Reform Act and Order LIII Rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules (judicial review)
Relief refused
#Order of Certiorari to quash the decision of the 2nd Respondent dated 16th May 2003 in Land Appeal No. 307 of 1980
The Applicants lacked locus standi, having no grant of letters of administration to represent the estate of the deceased original appellant
Costs
Each party shall bear its own costs
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.
The term locus standi means a right to appear in Court and, conversely, as is stated in Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, to say that a person has no locus standi means that he has no right to appear or be heard in such and such a proceeding.
To determine who may agitate by suit any cause of action vested in the deceased at the time of his death, one must turn to section 82(a) of the Law of Succession Act. That section confers that power on personal representatives and on them alone.
The want of standing is fatal and renders the application incompetent. Consequently, the Notice of Motion dated 25th June 2003 is hereby struck out.
Considering the overall circumstances of this case, the court directs that each party shall bear its own costs. It is so ordered.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment inconsistently dates the impugned District Commissioner's decision, describing it as made on 16th May 2003 in the opening paragraphs but as 16th April 2003 later.
The Interested Parties' replying affidavit records the objection as dismissed on 23rd February 1976, whereas the Applicants' affidavits record the Kajiado Land Adjudication Committee decision as rendered on 23rd February 1979.
The judgment refers to Land Appeal Case No. 307 of 1990 in the DC's affidavit narrative while the appeal is elsewhere described as Land Appeal No. 307 of 1980.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Republic v Minister for Land and Settlement & another; Supeyo & another (Ex parte Applicant); Mpaayei & 2 others (Interested Parties) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case 31 of 2020) [2025] KEELC 6459 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Judicial Review Application arising from Notice of Motion dated 25th June 2003 (Appeal No. 307 of 1980, Ita Ole Supeyo v Ernest Ole Mpaayei). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/6459/eng@2025-09-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.