Jingo Tours and Safaris Limited & another v Swaleh & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E068 of 2026) [2026] KEELC 4587 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court confirmed that a plaintiff can freely withdraw a case before the hearing stage, with no costs awarded.
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 Plaintiffs should be permitted to withdraw the entire Notice of Motion dated 22nd June 2026 against all Defendants
- 2.Whether any terms, including costs, should attach to the withdrawal
Key legal issues
#Right of plaintiff to withdraw suit/application before hearing
The plaintiffs, being masters of their own suit, were entitled to withdraw the Notice of Motion before inter partes hearing; the court found no warrant to interfere.
Order 25 Rule 1 permits discontinuance at any time before the suit is set down for hearing. Pleadings had not closed, no inter partes hearing had convened, no evidence taken, and defendants were not put to the labour of a full defence, so no terms were warranted beyond no order as to costs.
Costs on withdrawal
Costs follow the event but the award is discretionary and to be exercised judiciously, not mechanically; on a voluntary withdrawal with no interim advantage gained, no order as to costs was appropriate.
Following the Supreme Court's discretion jurisprudence and its treatment of a like withdrawal in the Sonko case, the court accepted the withdrawal with each party bearing its own costs, since no interim advantage had been reaped by the plaintiffs.
Legal principles established
#- A plaintiff has an untrammelled right of discontinuance at the pre-hearing stage under Order 25 Rule 1, subject only to costs and abuse of process.
- Once a suit or application is withdrawn under Order 25, it ceases to exist and cannot be resurrected within the same file.
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Withdrawal dated 14th July 2026 is allowed
- 2.The Notice of Motion dated 22nd June 2026 is marked as withdrawn in its entirety as against the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants/Respondents
- 3.No order as to costs, as prayed
- 4.The file is closed
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 25 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
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.
(a) The Notice of Withdrawal dated 14th July 2026 is hereby allowed.
(b) The Notice of Motion dated 22nd June 2026 is marked as withdrawn in its entirety as against the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants/Respondents.
(c) There shall be no order as to costs, as prayed.
At any time before the setting down of the suit for hearing the plaintifi may by notice in writing, which shall be served on all parties, wholly discontinue his suit against all or any of the defendants or may withdraw any part of his claim
Where the dominus himself asks the Court to close the door, the Court should not press him to keep it ajar.
Withdrawal, once made, is a final act.
Issues in the judgment
#Plaintiffs' counsel file reference misspelled as 'Plaintifis' throughout the judgment
Judgment's date of delivery (16th July 2026) post-dates the Notice of Withdrawal (14th July 2026); the underlying motion referenced is itself dated 2026, which may reflect a typographical year
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Jingo Tours and Safaris Limited & another v Swaleh & 2 others (Environment and Land Case E068 of 2026) [2026] KEELC 4587 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). MCC MISC/E068/2026 (related suit; Notice of Withdrawal of Suit dated 14th July 2026). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/4587/eng@2026-07-16
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.