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ELCDismissedNotice of motion dated 12/5/2025 (in the ELC appeal decided on 23/3/2022)

Nyaki Farmers Co-operative Society v Ambutu (Environment and Land Appeal 76 of 2019) [2025] KEELC 6943 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
9 October 2025
BEB M Eboso
1,126 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~5 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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The ELC at Meru dismissed an attempt to set aside a 2022 decree, confirming that errors in warrants of attachment are fixed by the registry, not by attacking the decree.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This ruling of the Environment and Land Court at Meru, delivered by B M Eboso, ELC Judge, on 9 October 2025, determines a notice of motion dated 12 May 2025 by the respondent in a concluded appeal. The underlying appeal had been allowed by Nzili J on 23 March 2022, substituting the lower court decision with an award of special damages of Kshs 667,000 with interest from 1 December 2004, and a decree was extracted on 26 May 2022. The applicant sought to set aside the decree as erroneous and to have the decretal sum recalculated, complaining that interest had been wrongly tabulated in the warrants of attachment, that payment had been held in abeyance following the death of the appellant (Jediel Gikundi Ambutu) before an administrator was appointed, and that a payment of Kshs 100,000 made after the lower court case had not been factored in. The appellant, through Allan Muriuki Gikunda, opposed, noting substitution had been effected following a grant in Meru CMC Succession Cause No. E038 of 2023 and that the Kshs 100,000 tender had been declined. The court found the extracted decree fully consistent with the judgment, held that the applicant had mistaken the warrants of attachment for the decree, and reiterated its earlier ruling that execution must be mounted on the trial court file, not the appeal file. The application was dismissed with each party bearing their own costs, the registry having irregularly permitted execution on the appeal file.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.whether there is a proper basis for setting aside or reviewing the substituting decree in this appeal

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the decree in the appeal should be set aside or reviewed

Holding

No; the decree matches the judgment and the applicant's complaint concerns the warrants of attachment, not the decree

Reasoning

The court compared the judgment of Nzili J with the extracted decree and found them in tandem. The applicant had mistaken the warrants of attachment for the decree. Any error in the warrants is a matter for the registry of the executing court. Execution had already been redirected to the trial court file, where fresh warrants would issue.

p. 2
02

Whether execution may be mounted on an appellate court file

Holding

No; the arena of execution is the trial court file, since the appellate decree replaces the trial court decree

Reasoning

In an earlier ruling the court recalled and cancelled warrants issued on the appeal file, holding that execution must proceed on the trial court file to avoid duplicity. The error in allowing execution on the appeal file was the court registry's, which explains the costs order.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A warrant of attachment/sale is not a decree; an error in a warrant is to be corrected by the registry of the executing court and does not justify setting aside or reviewing a decree consistent with the judgment
  • The decree of an appellate court replaces the decree of the trial court, and execution should be mounted on the trial court file to avoid duplicity of enforcement

Court orders

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  1. 1.Application dated 12/5/2025 rejected and dismissed for lack of merit
  2. 2.Each party to bear their own costs of the application

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

BE
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Inherent powers of the court over its own decree and proceedings (application to set aside/review decree issued in an appeal before the ELC)

Relief refused

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Setting aside the suit decree as erroneous

The extracted decree is fully in tandem with the judgment; no error established

p. 3

Review and recalculation of the decretal sum as at 4/4/2025

Errors complained of relate to the warrants of attachment, not the decree; the enforcing court's registry should correct them

p. 2

Costs

Each party to bear their respective costs of the application, because the Court Registry of the Environment and Land Court irregularly allowed execution on the appeal file

Quotable passages

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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 warrant of attachment/sale is not a decree. If the warrant has an error, that is an issue for the court registry of the court executing the decree to correct.
p. 2Distinction between decree and warrant of attachment
The decree of an appellate court replaces the decree of the trial court. The arena of execution should always be the trial court file.
p. 3Arena of execution after appeal
Consequently, the application dated 12/5/2025 is rejected and dismissed for lack of merit.
p. 3Disposition
For that reason, parties will bear their respective costs of the application. Those are the orders of the court.
p. 3Costs of the application

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The judgment records the earlier ruling as 'the court rendering the following verbatim ruling' - apparent typographical error for 'rendered'

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Nyaki Farmers Co-operative Society v Ambutu (Environment and Land Appeal 76 of 2019) [2025] KEELC 6943 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of motion dated 12/5/2025 (in the ELC appeal decided on 23/3/2022). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/6943/eng@2025-10-09

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.