Case ID:170082

Republic v Deputy County Commissioner Tigania West Sub-County Meru County & 4 others Exparte John Njati Kirema & another [2021] eKLR

Case Metadata

Case Number:

Judicial Review 9 of 2018

Parties:

Republic v Deputy County Commissioner Tigania West Sub-County Meru County, Land Control Board Tigania West, District Land Registrar Maua, Attorney General, Philip Kirema & Timothy Murathani Exparte John Njati Kirema & Esther Nkirote Kirema

Date Delivered:

10 Feb 2021

Case Class:

Civil

Court:

Environment and Land Court at Meru

Case Action:

Ruling

Judge(s):

Lucy Ngima Mbugua

Citation:

Republic v Deputy County Commissioner Tigania West Sub-County Meru County & 4 others Exparte John Njati Kirema & another [2021] eKLR

Court Division:

Environment and Land

County:

Meru

Case Outcome:

Application allowed

Disclaimer:

The information contained in the above segment is not part of the judicial opinion delivered by the Court. The metadata has been prepared by Kenya Law as a guide in understanding the subject of the judicial opinion. Kenya Law makes no warranties as to the comprehensiveness or accuracy of the information

REPUBLIC OF KENYA

IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND LAND COURT AT MERU

JUDICIAL REVIEW

NO.

9 OF 2018

JOHN NJATI KIREMA..........................................................1

ST

APPLICANT

ESTHER NKIROTE KIREMA.............................................2

ND

APPLICANT

AND

THE DEPUTY COUNTY COMMISSIONER

TIGANIA WEST SUB-COUNTY MERU COUNTY......1

ST

RESPONDENT

THE LAND CONTROL BOARD TIGANIA WEST......2

ND

RESPONDENT

THE DISTRICT LAND REGISTRAR MAUA...............3

RD

RESPONDENT

THE HON. ATTORNEY GENERAL...............................4

TH

RESPONDENT

PHILIP KIREMA...............................................................5

TH

RESPONDENT

TIMOTHY MURATHANI................................................6

TH

RESPONDENT

RULING

1. Vide a notice of motion filed on 29.1.2020, the ex-parte applicant is seeking orders to have the suit reinstated as the same was dismissed on 20.1.2020. He also prays that the previous subsisting orders of certiorari and prohibition be reinstated. It is averred that the advocate who was in conduct of the matter resigned leaving the firm overwhelmed. Efforts to get an advocate to hold brief were also futile.

2. On 24.6.2020, Counsel for the Attorney General indicated that they would not oppose the application for reinstatement of the suit. They later qualified this position by stating that prayer 2 in the application dated 29.1.2020 is not clear since no order of certiorari was ever issued.

3. The other respondents were served but they did not file any response to the current application.

4. The decision whether a suit should be reinstated for trial is a matter of justice and it depends on the facts of the case –

see Mwangi S. Kaimenyi vs Attorney General & another (2014) eKLR.

5. In the present case, the ex-parte applicants’ counsel has explained to the satisfaction of this court the predicament which befell their law firm when the counsel handling the matter resigned. I have also taken into account that the Attorney General is not opposing the application as long as orders which did not exist before the dismissal of the suit are not issued.

6. Finally, I have considered that the application was filed expeditiously. In the circumstances, I allow the application filed on 29.1.2020 in the following terms:

7.

The orders of 20.1.2020

dismissing the suit

are hereby set aside and the suit is reinstated.

8.

The orders given

a

t the leave stage o

n

25.6.2018 are also reinstated

.Parties to see the extracted order issued on 26.6.2018.

9.

The ex

-

parte applicant

s

are

condemned to pay the costs of this application.

10.

This suit is to be heard within a period of t

hree

months otherwise the orders granted herein shall lapse.

DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED AT MERU THIS 10

TH

DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2021

HON. LUCY. N. MBUGUA

ELC JUDGE

ORDER

The date of delivery of this Ruling was given to the advocates for the parties through a virtual session via Microsoft teams on 3.11.2020. In light of the declaration of measures restricting court operations due to the

COVID-19 pandemic

and following the practice directions issued by his Lordship, the Chief Justice dated 17

th

March, 2020 and published in the Kenya Gazette of 17

th

April 2020 as Gazette Notice no.3137, this Ruling has been delivered to the parties by electronic mail. They are deemed to have waived compliance with order 21 rule 1 of the

Civil Procedure Rules

which requires that all judgments and rulings be pronounced in open court.

HON. LUCY N. MBUGUA

ELC JUDGE