Njeru & another v Thararoi Ltd (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Case E402 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 3530 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan land court refused to let landowners appeal late because they could not credibly explain nearly three months of silence after judgment was delivered.
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 applicants should be granted leave to file an appeal out of time
Key legal issues
#Whether the applicants established good and sufficient cause under Section 79G of the Civil Procedure Act to justify extension of time to appeal
The application was dismissed because the applicants failed to provide a reasonable and credible explanation for the delay
The court applied the Salat principles: extension of time is discretionary and equitable, requiring a reasonable explanation for the delay and absence of undue delay. Judgment was delivered on 17th September 2025 and the applicants had 30 days to appeal. They claimed the judgment date changed and the court did not sit on 29th August 2025, only discovering the delivery on 9th December 2025. The court perused the record and found the matter was mentioned twice after 29th August 2025 before delivery, making the allegations unsubstantiated and amounting to concealment of material facts.
Legal principles established
#- Extension of time is an equitable remedy available only to a deserving party, and an applicant bears the burden of explaining the delay to the satisfaction of the court
Court orders
#- 1.The notice of motion dated 16th December, 2025 is dismissed with costs to the respondent
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- Magistrates' Court (trial court)
- MC ELC No. E579 of 2025 formerly MCCCOM No. 1676 of 2019
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 1A, 1B & 3A of the Civil Procedure Act, Sections 4 & 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act and Articles 22, 159(2) & 162(2)(b) of the Constitution; Section 79G of the Civil Procedure Act
Relief refused
#Leave to file and lodge the memorandum of appeal and record of appeal out of time
The applicants failed to give a good and sufficient cause for the delay; their explanation was unsubstantiated and they were indolent
Stay of execution of the judgment and decree pending the hearing of the application and the intended appeal
Fell with the dismissal of the extension application; no merit found in the motion
Costs
Costs of the application to the respondent (dismissed with costs to the 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.
the applicants went into slumber after 29th August, 2025 and the court cannot come to the aid of an indolent party
the allegations made by the applicants are unsubstantiated and ill advised particularly on their failure to conceal material facts
From the above, I find no merit in the notice of motion dated 16th December, 2025. The same is hereby dismissed with costs to the respondent.
Issues in the judgment
#The application filed on 16th December 2025 is described by the respondent as having been filed more than 90 days after judgment, but the judgment was delivered on 17th September 2025, which is about 90 days; the arithmetic is approximate
Supporting affidavit sworn on 16th December 2025 while the replying affidavit is sworn on 16th February 2026, yet the judgment records directions having been obtained on 3rd January 2026, suggesting a possible date inconsistency in the pleadings as recited
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Njeru & another v Thararoi Ltd (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Case E402 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 3530 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Notice of motion dated 16th December, 2025 in MC ELC No. E579 of 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/3530/eng@2026-06-11
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.