Jogoo Road Uhuru Open Air Market Group & 6 others v Ag County Secretary and the Head of County Public Service; Nairobi City County & 4 others (Environment and Land Constitutional Petition E023 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 8393 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Nairobi court allowed the Jogoo Road market redevelopment to proceed, ruling that public interest outweighed traders' request to halt evictions and demolition.
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 Petitioners have met the threshold for grant of a conservatory order
Key legal issues
#Whether the Petitioners met the threshold for conservatory orders
They did not; the project serves the public interest and their concerns were substantially addressed through public participation
Applying the Munya principles, the court weighed public interest in the duly funded modern market redevelopment against the traders' concerns. It found representatives of the Petitioners participated in the 2023 public participation forum and gave input on design; no demolitions had occurred; and halting the project would cause enormous economic loss and paralyze implementation.
Legal principles established
#- Conservatory orders are granted on the inherent merit of a case bearing in mind the public interest, constitutional values and proportionate magnitudes
- At the conservatory stage the court only examines whether a prima facie case and prejudice are shown, not conclusive findings
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion application dated 27th March 2025 is found unmerited and is disallowed
- 2.No order as to costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Constitution of Kenya - petition under Articles 10, 27, 28, 35, 43, 46 and 47
Relief refused
#Conservatory order prohibiting implementation of the Notice to Vacate dated 14th March 2025, eviction/displacement of traders or demolition of structures at Jogoo Road Open Air Market
Petitioners failed to establish a prima facie case; project is in public interest and interim reliefs would paralyze a duly funded public project
Costs of the application
Court made no order as to costs
Costs
No order as to costs - each party to bear their 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.
In the foregoing, I find the instant Notice of Motion application unmerited and will disallow it but make no order as to costs.
I find that the Petitioners have not established a prima facie case to warrant the grant of conservatory orders as sought.
I find that the development of the Jogoo Road Open Air market is in public interest and is a priority.
Conservatory orders, consequently, should be granted on the inherent merit of a case, bearing in mind the public interest, the constitutional values, and the proportionate magnitudes, and priority levels attributable to the relevant courses.
Issues in the judgment
#Court and case number not expressly stated in the excerpt; the coram appears only at the delivery footer
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Jogoo Road Uhuru Open Air Market Group & 6 others v Ag County Secretary and the Head of County Public Service; Nairobi City County & 4 others (Environment and Land Constitutional Petition E023 of 2025) [2025] KEELC 8393 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/8393/eng@2025-12-03
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.