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ELCAllowedNotice of Motion dated 10th November, 2025 (in a suit by Originating Summons dated 25th February, 2025)

Kombo & another v Mbuvi (Land Originating Summons E002 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2275 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
23 April 2026
EOE. O. Obaga
1,291 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This was a ruling of the Environment and Land Court on a Notice of Motion dated 10th November 2025 by the Applicants, Gibson Ndume Kombo and Kimwele Kombo, who had filed an originating summons dated 25th February 2025 against the Respondent claiming, inter alia, adverse possession over suit property. The Applicants sought leave to amend the originating summons to add a fresh prayer empowering the Land Registrar Makueni to effect registration of the suit property in their favour, together with associated deeming and liberty orders. The Respondent filed no reply to the application, relying instead on his replying affidavit of 4th June 2025 filed in answer to the originating summons. The court identified the sole issue as whether leave to amend should be granted. It traced the discretionary power to Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 8 Rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules, and applied the principles in Central Kenya Ltd v Trust Bank Ltd and Institute for Social Accountability, as amplified by Muleya v COMESA: amendments should be freely allowed at any stage unless they introduce undue delay, a new or inconsistent cause of action, affect vested rights, or cause uncompensatable injustice. Finding that the amendment merely enabled the Applicants to fully articulate their claim and that no prejudice to the Respondent was demonstrated, the court allowed the application, directing the Applicants to file and serve an amended originating summons within 14 days, the Respondent to reply within 14 days of service, with costs in the cause.

Questions the Court framed

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

  1. 1.whether the Applicants ought to be granted leave to amend their originating summons dated 25th February, 2025

Key legal issues

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Whether leave to amend the originating summons should be granted

Holding

The application was merited; the amendment adding a fresh prayer for registration of the suit property in the Applicants' favour was allowed, no prejudice to the Respondent having been demonstrated.

Reasoning

The court noted the amendment of pleadings is a discretionary power under Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 8 Rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules. Applying the Central Kenya Ltd v Trust Bank Ltd principles, it found the proposed amendment merely enabled the Applicants to fully articulate their claim, introduced no new cause of action, and caused no demonstrated prejudice to the Respondent.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • Amendments to pleadings should be freely allowed at any stage provided there is no undue delay, no new or inconsistent cause of action, no affected vested right, and no injustice to the other side
  • An amendment that merely amplifies existing pleadings may be allowed; one introducing a brand new matter such as a new cause of action or relief is to be denied

Court orders

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  1. 1.Leave granted to the Applicants to amend the Originating Summons dated 25th February, 2025
  2. 2.The Applicants shall file and serve an amended originating summons within 14 days
  3. 3.The Respondent is at liberty to file an amended reply to the amended originating summons within 14 days of being served
  4. 4.Costs shall be in the cause

The bench

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

EO
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 8 Rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules

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.

In the end, the instant application is merited. The Applicant shall file and serve an amended originating summons within 14 days. The Respondent is at liberty to file an amended reply to the amended originating summons within 14 days of being served. Costs shall be in the cause.
p. 3final orders - leave to amend granted
The object of amendment of pleadings is to enable the parties to alter their pleadings so as to ensure that the litigation between them is conducted, not on the false hypothesis of the facts already pleaded or the relief or remedy already claimed, but rather on the basis of the true state of the facts
p. 3purpose of amendment of pleadings
No evidence has been adduced to demonstrate that the proposed amendments will prejudice the Respondent’s case in any manner.
p. 3absence of prejudice to respondent

Issues in the judgment

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minor

Judgment body states application dated 10th November 2025 and orders sought 'by the 2nd Applicants', while the ruling is delivered on 23rd April 2026 and the supporting affidavit is by two deponents jointly

minor

Case title and the identity of the Respondent are not stated in the excerpt; the Respondent is referred to only generically

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, "Kombo & another v Mbuvi (Land Originating Summons E002 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 2275 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Notice of Motion dated 10th November, 2025 (in a suit by Originating Summons dated 25th February, 2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2275/eng@2026-04-23

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