AC Africane Holdings Limited v Lamuria Properties Limited (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Case E009 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 4191 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Nanyuki Environment and Land Court let a tenant appeal a rent deposit order but refused to pause it, so the Ksh 2.4 million must still be paid.
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 applicant should be granted leave to appeal against the order of 1.10.2025 requiring deposit of Ksh 2,411,670 in court
- 2.Whether an order for stay of execution of the said order should be granted
Key legal issues
#Whether leave to appeal should be granted
Leave granted, narrowly confined to the order of 1.10.2025 and conditional on filing within 7 days
Leave is ordinarily sought orally before the court issuing the order, but the court overlooked that lapse. No draft memorandum was annexed, raising doubts about arguable grounds. Given the avalanche of applications and the unverified claim that a similar application was filed before the trial court, the court granted leave but warned it would strike out the appeal if duplicative litigation emerged.
Whether stay of execution should be granted
Dismissed
The deposit order is conservatory and interlocutory, security held in court refundable on success, consistent with Order 42 Rule 6. The applicant offered no security, did not demonstrate substantial loss, and failed to rebut the respondent's averment that contempt proceedings are ongoing for defiance of the order.
Whether the applicant could litigate reliefs beyond the application
No; submissions departing from the pleadings are disregarded
The applicant's submissions sought stay of proceedings under the Arbitration Act, striking out of the suit, setting aside of interlocutory orders and damages - reliefs far exceeding the notice of motion. Relying on the principle that parties are bound by their pleadings, the court disregarded those submissions entirely.
Legal principles established
#- Stay of execution pending appeal is discretionary and requires sufficient cause, substantial loss, no unreasonable delay and provision of security under Order 42 Rule 6
- Where there is no automatic right of appeal, leave requires a draft memorandum of appeal showing arguable grounds
Court orders
#- 1.Leave granted for the Applicant to lodge an appeal only in respect of the order of 1.10.2025, to be filed and served within 7 days failing which the leave lapses automatically
- 2.The prayer for stay of execution is dismissed
- 3.The applicant to pay the costs of the suit to the respondent
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- Magistrates Court, Nanyuki
- MELC/073/2025
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Application for leave to appeal against an interlocutory order of the Magistrates' Court and stay of execution under Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Relief refused
#Stay of execution of the order of 1 October 2025
The order depositing disputed rent in court is conservatory security refundable if the applicant succeeds, made under Order 42 Rule 6; the applicant offered no security and faces contempt proceedings for non-compliance
Reliefs sought in submissions (stay of proceedings under s.6(1) Arbitration Act, striking out the respondent's suit, setting aside interlocutory orders, damages)
They were not in tandem with the prayers in the application and parties are bound by their pleadings
Costs
The applicant is to pay the costs of this suit 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.
Leave is granted for the Applicant to lodge an appeal only in respect of the order of 1.10.2025. The same is to be filed and served within 7 days from the date of this ruling failure to which the leave so granted shall automatically lapse.
The prayer for stay of execution is dismissed.
The applicant is to pay the costs of this suit to the respondent.
The power to grant an application for stay of execution pending appeal is a discretionary one on suficient cause being shown, where the applicant may sufier substantial loss; the application is made without unreasonable delay and on provision of such security as the Court may impose
In a case like this one where there is no automatic right to appeal, the applicant ought to satisfy the court that the intended appeal contains arguable grounds.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment inconsistently dates the impugned order, referring to '1.10.2026' although the application challenges the order of 1st October 2025
Judgment labelled by paragraph numbering as a ruling but the decretal passage states 'I proceed to give the following orders' - no material contradiction, noted for completeness
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "AC Africane Holdings Limited v Lamuria Properties Limited (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Case E009 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 4191 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Miscellaneous Application dated 9.10.2025 (arising from MELC/073/2025, Lamuria Properties Limited v AC Africane Holdings Limited). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/4191/eng@2026-06-17
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.