Kirera & 14 others v Kiambati & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E042 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 3807 (KLR)
The bottom line
#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 application dated 19/12/2025 meets the criteria for granting an order of stay of execution under Order 42 rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Key legal issues
#Availability of stay of execution under Order 42 rule 6 in a first-instance court
The application fails because the court was not seized of an appeal or intended appeal; its Order 42 rule 6 jurisdiction arises only in appellate capacity.
The applicants asked a trial court to exercise appellate jurisdiction and stay a decree that had already been through an appeal, which this court had itself dismissed on 1/2/2024. Without a live or intended appeal there is no platform for the order, and the applicants also made no effort to satisfy the substantial-loss, delay and security requirements of Order 42 rule 6(2).
Res judicata
The court declined to make a definitive pronouncement on res judicata, holding it is a jurisdictional issue on which the defendants may move on an appropriate platform.
The court noted the defendants raised res judicata but held that it had not been properly moved, and the plaintiffs had not been invited to respond; the issue was left for the defendants to canvass on an appropriate platform.
Legal principles established
#- Stay of execution under Order 42 rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules is available only where there is a pending appeal or intended appeal, and cannot issue in a court exercising original first-instance jurisdiction
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 19/12/2025 seeking stay of execution of the judgment and decree in Nkubu SPMC E & L Case No 27 of 2019 is dismissed for lack of merit
- 2.The applicants shall bear costs of the application
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Environment and Land Court original jurisdiction; application invoked Order 42 rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Relief refused
#Stay of execution of the judgment and decree in Nkubu SPMC E & L Case No 27 of 2019
Stay under Order 42 rule 6 requires a live or intended appeal; the court was sitting as a first instance trial court, and the applicants did not satisfy Order 42 rule 6(2) requirements
Costs
The applicants shall bear costs of the application (in tandem with Section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act)
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 jurisdiction is not available to the Court when the Court is exercising its original jurisdiction as a trial court or as a first instance court.
in the absence of a live appeal or an intended appeal in this court, the Court has no platform on which to stay the judgment and decree in Nkubu SPMC E & L Case No 27 of 2019.
the application dated 19/12/2025, which is an invitation to a trial court to exercise appellate jurisdiction and issue an order of stay of execution in an original cause, staying a judgment and a decree of a lower court that have already gone through the appeal mechanism, is rejected and dismissed for lack of merit.
In tandem with the general principle in Section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act, the applicants shall bear costs of the application
Issues in the judgment
#Internal date inconsistencies: the plaint is dated 19/5/2025 but the motion is dated 19/12/2025 and the judgment states it is dated 19/12/2025; also an affidavit dated 4/4/2026 with submissions dated 10/4/2026 and ruling dated 18/6/2026, which are future-dated relative to standard formatting, suggesting possible typographical errors in years
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kirera & 14 others v Kiambati & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E042 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 3807 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Meru ELC (original suit) – notice of motion dated 19/12/2025 in a fresh suit by the plaintiffs; suit number not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/3807/eng@2026-06-18
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.