Gospel Sanctuary Ministry v Mwaura (Environment and Land Case 37 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 7608 (KLR)
The bottom line
#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 Applicants have met the threshold for the exercise of discretion in their favour
Key legal issues
#Whether the threshold for leave to file a supplementary affidavit and supplementary documents mid-trial was met
Leave granted because the plaintiff had not closed its case, the defence had not commenced, and no prejudice would be caused to the defendant who retains full rights of cross-examination and response.
The court applied Order 3 Rule 2 and Order 7 Rule 5 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which permit written statements and documents to be furnished with leave of the court. Guided by Article 159(2)(d), Sections 1A, 1B and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act and Section 3 of the ELC Act, the court weighed the stage of proceedings and held that prejudice increases as trial progresses, but here the trial was at an early stage. The defendant could cross-examine, recall witnesses and file additional documents in response.
Legal principles established
#- A party may be permitted to introduce additional evidence outside the time frames in the rules where it can be adduced without undue prejudice to the other party, guided by Article 159(2)(d)
- The court cannot prevent a plaintiff from stating its case while its case remains open, the only limitation being prejudice to the opposing party
Court orders
#- 1.The Supplementary List of Documents by the Plaintiff is allowed
- 2.The Defendants will have the costs of the oral application
- 3.Filing and exchange of the Supplementary List to be done within seven (7) days from the date of the ruling
- 4.Any documents filed after 17/11/2025 shall stand automatically expunged from the Court record
- 5.Mention to confirm filing and exchange of the documents on 25/02/2026
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent power under Section 3A of the Civil Procedure Act and Article 159(2)(d) of the Constitution; overriding objective under Section 3 of the Environment and Land Court Act
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.
Based on the foregoing, the Supplementary List of Documents by the Plaintifi is allowed. The Defendants will have the costs of the oral application.
Any documents filed after 17/11/20225 shall stand automatically expunged from the Court record.
The Court as a shrine of justice, has a mandate to do justice to all parties and not to be too strictly bound by procedural technicalities.
Rules of procedure have aptly been described as handmaidens of justice: not mistresses.
The only limitation to the exercise of this right would be if there was prejudice to be caused to the Defendant in allowing the Plaintifi to file additional witnesses and documents.
Issues in the judgment
#The ruling repeatedly renders 'fifici' as 'fi' ligature errors (e.g. 'Plaintifi', 'efiect', 'fiows'), indicating OCR/typographical artefacts in the text
The date in the final orders is internally inconsistent - '17/11/20225' is not a valid date
The underlying suit is described as an Originating Summons dated 3/11/2022, yet the parties and the hearing proceed as an ordinary suit; the record does not state the suit number or title
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Gospel Sanctuary Ministry v Mwaura (Environment and Land Case 37 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 7608 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). . Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/7608/eng@2025-11-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.