Mungai v Murerwa (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E012 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2156 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court allowed a plaintiff who couldn't find the defendant to serve court papers through a newspaper notice 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 plaintiff should be granted leave to serve summons on the defendant through a notice in a national newspaper where the defendant cannot be traced
Key legal issues
#Whether substituted service by newspaper advertisement is warranted
Granted, because the applicant explained he could not trace the defendant, who is a stranger to him
The court considered the ex-parte application dated 23/1/2026 seeking leave to serve summons by newspaper notice. The applicant explained that despite efforts he had been unable to trace the defendant, who is a stranger to him. On that explanation the court found substituted service appropriate and granted leave, extended the validity of summons, and set a 60-day window for effecting service.
Legal principles established
#- Where a defendant cannot be traced, a plaintiff may be granted leave to serve summons by substituted service through a prominent notice in a national newspaper
Court orders
#- 1.Leave granted to the plaintiff to serve summons on the defendant through a prominent notice in either the Daily Nation or The Standard Newspapers
- 2.Validity of the summons extended for 12 months from the date of expiry
- 3.Service to be effected within 60 days
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Not stated in the judgment
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 plaintifi is granted leave to serve summons on the defendant through a prominent notice in either the Daily Nation or The Standard Newspapers
The validity of the summons is hereby extended for 12 months from the date of expiry. Service shall be efiected within 60 days.
Issues in the judgment
#Judgment does not state the case title or case number of the underlying suit
Text contains typographical errors ('plaintifi', 'efiected') and the date of judgment (April 2026) postdates the application date in a manner consistent with a scanned/OCR document
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Mungai v Murerwa (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E012 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2156 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2156/eng@2026-04-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.