Chere v Lake Basin Development Authority (Judicial Review E045 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 2913 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to revive a case dismissed after the litigant missed a virtual hearing and could not prove his excuse.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the applicant demonstrated sufficient justification for non-attendance on 23rd July, 2025
He did not; the call-log annextures were inadmissible for want of a certificate under Section 106B of the Evidence Act, and even if admissible the applicant failed the test of diligence
The court found the electronic evidence unauthenticated and inadmissible, leaving the applicant with no verifiable evidence of the virtual-link challenges. Even on the merits, the applicant did not disclose the link used, the time of his access attempts, or the nature of the challenges, while respondent's counsel accessed the same publicly available link without difficulty.
Whether the court should exercise its discretion to reinstate the dismissed application
No; dismissal for non-attendance was justified and the discretionary favour was not earned
The applicant was aware the application was listed, failed to attend promptly, and blamed the virtual link without demonstrating any defect in it. The respondent's counsel attended via the publicly available cause-list link without challenge. The court therefore declined to exercise its discretion in the applicant's favour and dismissed the application.
Legal principles established
#- A party relying on an electronic record printed on paper, stored, recorded or copied on optical or electro-magnetic media must accompany it with a Certificate of Electronic Evidence; without it the record is inadmissible
- The court has jurisdiction to set aside an order of dismissal for non-attendance, to be exercised judicially based on the grounds relied upon and circumstances including prejudice
- A litigant must exercise diligence in prosecuting his case; a case belongs to the party in the suit
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 6th August, 2025 is dismissed
- 2.Parties shall bear their own costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 12 Rule 7, Order 51 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Sections 1A, 1B and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Chere v Lake Basin Development Authority (Judicial Review E045 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 2913 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELRC Judicial Review application; Notice of Motion dated 6th August, 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2913/eng@2025-10-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.