Macharia & another (Suing as the Administrators ad litem of the Estate of Damaris Wairimu Muriu - Deceased) v Muriu & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E084 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 4547 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court ruled its Thika court could hear a Lari land dispute, confirming the court has nationwide jurisdiction.
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 and 2nd Defendants' application meets the strict threshold of a pure Preliminary Objection, or whether it introduces contested factual and evidentiary inquiries requiring testing at a full trial.
- 2.Whether the Environment and Land Court, sitting at Thika, is stripped of territorial or statutory jurisdiction to entertain a land dispute arising from Lari, Limuru Sub-County, by virtue of Sections 12 and 15 of the Civil Procedure Act (Cap. 21), particularly where a sister registry has been gazetted but remains functionally non-operational.
Key legal issues
#Whether the objection qualified as a pure preliminary objection
It did not; by filing a supplementary affidavit with a competing valuation report, the Defendants strayed into contested facts.
A valid preliminary objection must be a pure point of law on uncontroverted facts capable of disposing of the suit. The Defendants contested the Plaintiffs' valuation of Kshs 27 million with their own valuation of Kshs 12 million, inviting the Court to weigh competing expert annexures. Since the pecuniary jurisdiction challenge under Section 4 depends on that valuation, the objection required evidentiary inquiry and failed the threshold test.
Whether Sections 12 and 15 of the Civil Procedure Act oust the Thika ELC's territorial jurisdiction
No; the ELC is a single superior court of nationwide jurisdiction under Article 162(2)(b), and stations are mere registries.
Unlike subordinate courts whose territorial limits are circumscribed by the Magistrates' Courts Act, the ELC is established by the Constitution with mandate throughout the Republic. Its registries are administrative conveniences, not separate legal entities. Section 15 guides the place of suing for administrative convenience and cannot restrict a constitutional superior court's jurisdiction; a judge at any station may determine land disputes situated anywhere in Kenya.
Whether the Plaintiffs engaged in forum shopping by filing at Thika when a Limuru ELC had been gazetted
No; at filing on 20/05/2025 Thika was the only functional ELC in Kiambu County, and the Limuru court remained non-functional.
A suit must be judged on the legal realities at the time of filing. When the Plaintiffs filed on 20/05/2025, Thika was the only operational ELC within Kiambu County. The Limuru ELC was established by Gazette Notice No. 15210 of 22/10/2025 with effect from 15/01/2026 but was non-functional as at 9/03/2026. Penalising litigants for not using a non-existent or non-functional court would subvert Article 48's guarantee of access to justice.
Legal principles established
#- The Environment and Land Court is a single superior court of nationwide jurisdiction; its registries are administrative arrangements and do not create territorially distinct courts.
- Section 15 of the Civil Procedure Act regulates the place of suing for administrative convenience only and cannot divest a constitutional superior court of its substantive jurisdiction.
- A preliminary objection relying on disputed facts or evidence outside the pleadings is not a proper preliminary objection.
- A litigant cannot be guilty of forum shopping for filing suit in the only available and functional forum at the time of filing.
- Striking out a pleading is a remedy of last resort; registry issues warrant administrative transfer, not striking out.
Court orders
#- 1.The 1st and 2nd Defendants' Preliminary Objection dated 8/08/2025 is dismissed.
- 2.Costs of the Preliminary Objection to the Plaintiff.
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya as read with Sections 4 and 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act
Relief refused
#Striking out of the Plaintiffs' suit and dismissal of the Plaint
The Thika ELC has full substantive and territorial jurisdiction; the objection was not a pure point of law and Sections 12 and 15 of the Civil Procedure Act cannot divest a constitutional superior court of jurisdiction.
Costs
Preliminary Objection dismissed with costs to the Plaintiff.
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 1 st and 2nd Defendants' Preliminary Objection dated 8/08/2025 is legally unmerited and unsustainable and is hereby dismissed with costs to the Plaintiff.
The Environment and Land Court is a Court of nationwide jurisdiction. It is a single superior Court of record with status equal to the High Court.
Section 15 of the Civil Procedure Act regulates the place of suing for administrative convenience; it does not, and cannot, divest a constitutional superior Court of its substantive jurisdiction.
Striking out a pleading is a remedy of the last resort, reserved exclusively for actions that are notoriously hopeless or incurably defective.
Litigants cannot be accused of the vice of forum shopping for filing a suit in the only available and functional constitutional forum.
Issues in the judgment
#Internal date inconsistencies: the Replying Affidavit is described as sworn on 5/12/2025 while the Plaint is dated 12/05/2025 and instituted on 20/05/2025; the Preliminary Objection grounds describe the Plaint as dated 12/05/2025 but paragraph 2 describes the Notice of Preliminary Objection as dated 8/08/2025. The sequence of dates as stated is internally unclear.
The Section 15(c) quotation in the preliminary objection reads 'personally looks for gain' where the statutory text elsewhere uses 'personally works for gain'.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Macharia & another (Suing as the Administrators ad litem of the Estate of Damaris Wairimu Muriu - Deceased) v Muriu & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E084 of 2025) [2026] KEELC 4547 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). ELCLC NO. E084 OF 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/4547/eng@2026-07-13
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.