Kaleiya (Suing as the Legal Representative and Beneficiary of the Late Kaleiya Tumpes and Lasoi Kaleiya Tumpes) v Kaleiya & another; AMREF Housing Development Company Limited & another (Interested Parties) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case 3 of 2021) [2026] KEELC 2281 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's High Court struck out a judicial review suit because the applicant held only a limited estate grant that permits preserving property, not filing lawsuits.
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 1st Respondent's Notice of Preliminary Objection qualifies as a preliminary objection in law
- 2.Whether a Limited Grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona vests the holder with the capacity to institute Judicial Review proceedings on behalf of a deceased's estate
Key legal issues
#Whether the objection raised a valid preliminary objection
The objection qualified as a preliminary objection because locus standi goes to jurisdiction and raises a pure point of law capable of disposing of the suit in limine.
Applying Mukisa Biscuit, the Court found that capacity to sue is a pure point of law: if a party lacks capacity, no valid proceedings exist. No ascertainment of facts or exercise of discretion was required, so the objection met the classic definition of a preliminary objection.
Whether a limited grant ad colligenda bona confers locus standi to institute judicial review proceedings for a deceased's estate
No. Such a grant is strictly for collection and preservation of the estate and does not empower adversarial litigation; the Applicant lacked locus standi at filing.
Section 82 of the Law of Succession Act empowers personal representatives only subject to limitations in their grant. An ad colligenda bona grant under Section 67 and Rule 36 is for urgency to collect and preserve the estate from wastage. Following Morjaria v Abdalla as applied in Zahul Mohamed Rehmtulla, the Court held that such a grant cannot found a suit on behalf of the estate; the prescribed vehicle is a grant ad litem or a full grant.
Consequence of suing without locus standi
The proceedings are incompetent, fatally defective and a jurisdictional nullity ab initio, incapable of cure by amendment or the overriding objective.
Locus standi runs to the heart of the case and equates to jurisdiction; a party without it lacks the right to institute or maintain a suit even where a valid cause of action subsists. Accordingly the entire judicial review suit was struck out rather than stayed or stayed for amendment.
Legal principles established
#- A grant ad colligenda bona is confined to collecting and preserving the estate and does not confer the right to institute a suit on behalf of the estate.
- A suit instituted by a party without legal capacity is a jurisdictional nullity that cannot be cured by amendment or the overriding objective.
- The proper vehicle for litigating to protect an estate before confirmation of a full grant is a Limited Grant Ad Litem.
Court orders
#- 1.The 1st Respondent's Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 1st October 2025 is upheld
- 2.The matter (judicial review proceedings) is struck out in its entirety for want of locus standi
- 3.Costs of the preliminary objection to the 1st Respondent
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Judicial review jurisdiction of the High Court (specific provision not stated in the judgment)
Relief refused
#The ex parte Applicant's judicial review proceedings (in their entirety)
The Applicant held only a Limited Grant ad colligenda bona, which does not confer capacity to institute or maintain proceedings on behalf of the estate
Costs
Costs of the preliminary objection awarded to the 1st Respondent
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 light of the foregoing analysis, the 1st Respondent's Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 1st October 2025 is hereby upheld. Consequently, this matter is struck out in its entirety for want of locus standi with costs to the 1st Respondent.
A grant ad colligenda bona does not empower an administrator to engage in adversarial litigation.
it is a jurisdictional nullity ab initio. Simply put, a party without locus standi in a civil suit lacks the right to institute and/or maintain that suit even where a valid cause of action subsists.
The core issue for determination is whether a Limited Grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona vests the holder with the capacity to institute Judicial Review proceedings on behalf of a deceased's estate.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kaleiya (Suing as the Legal Representative and Beneficiary of the Late Kaleiya Tumpes and Lasoi Kaleiya Tumpes) v Kaleiya & another; AMREF Housing Development Company Limited & another (Interested Parties) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case 3 of 2021) [2026] KEELC 2281 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). not_stated_in_judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2281/eng@2026-04-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.