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ELCDismissedNotice of Motion dated 22nd September 2025 (Judgment of 23rd May 2022 referred)· [2026] KEELC 2447 (KLR)

Gituro v Njeri; Thuo (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Appeal E088 of 2021) [2026] KEELC 2447 (KLR)

Environment and Land Court
28 April 2026
JOJ. M. ONYANGO
2,271 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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The Land Court at Thika ruled that when someone refuses to cooperate with a court order, the answer is enforcement, not asking the court to review its own judgment.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a ruling of the Environment and Land Court at Thika on the Applicant's Notice of Motion dated 22nd September 2025 seeking review of the Court's orders of 23rd May 2022, which had directed the Land Registrar to determine a boundary dispute between parcels Githunguri/Kanjai/2916 and Githunguri/Kanjai/2914. Following a site visit and a Land Registrar's report recommending reinstatement of the subdivision in accordance with Succession Cause No. 504 of 1987, the mutation process stalled because the Respondent refused to sign the mutation forms. The Applicant sought orders varying the earlier judgment and authorising the Deputy Registrar to execute all necessary forms. The Respondent opposed, describing the application as frivolous, an abuse of process, and an attempt to mask an irregular and biased survey process. The court framed a single issue: whether it should vary, amend and review its orders of 23rd May 2022. Applying section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and guided by Ndungu Njau v National Bank of Kenya Limited, the court held that review is a narrow, exceptional jurisdiction concerned with the integrity of judicial determinations, not their enforcement. The Applicant identified no error apparent on the face of the record and no new evidence; his grievance lay in the Respondent's non-cooperation in implementing the decree, a matter for execution proceedings, not review. The application was dismissed with costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the Respondent's refusal to sign the mutation forms amounts to 'sufficient reason' for review of the Orders of 23rd May 2022

Holding

It does not. The Applicant's grievance is as to implementation of the decree, not a defect in the decree, and falls outside the statutory thresholds of Order 45.

Reasoning

The court reviewed section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 Rule 1, noting the three narrow grounds for review. No error apparent on the face of the record was identified and no new evidence was alleged. Distinguishing correction of judicial determinations (review) from enforcement of concluded determinations (execution), the court, guided by Ndungu Njau v National Bank of Kenya, held that resistance to implementation cannot be re-characterised as sufficient reason, since doing so would unsettle the finality of judgments.

p. 5

Legal principles established

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  • Non-compliance with or resistance to implementation of a court order does not, without more, constitute a ground for review under Order 45.
  • Review is a narrow and exceptional jurisdiction concerned with the integrity of the decision-making process, not a device for enforcement of decrees; once a decree is pronounced the court becomes functus officio on the merits save for narrowly circumscribed exceptions.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Notice of Motion dated 22nd September 2025 is dismissed with costs
Jurisdiction invoked
Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 of the Civil Procedure Rules (review jurisdiction)

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, "Gituro v Njeri; Thuo (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Appeal E088 of 2021) [2026] KEELC 2447 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Notice of Motion dated 22nd September 2025 (Judgment of 23rd May 2022 referred). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/2447/eng@2026-04-28

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