REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND LAND COURT
ELC CASE NO. 719 OF 2014
(Formerly Nyeri High Court Civil Case No. 122 of 2010
Consolidated with Nyeri HCC No. 136 of 2011)
NANCY WANGARE MATHENGE……………………………1st PLAINTIFF
WAMBUI MATHENGE…………………….…………...…..…2nd PLAINTIFF
DANIEL GICHUKI……………………………………...…..… 3rd PLAINTIFF
PURITY MUTHONI MWANGI………………………..…...…4th PLAINTIFF
-VERSUS-
RACHEL KARUNGARI KING’ORI………………...……1ST DEFENDANT
JOHN MWANIKI KING’ORI…………………………..…2ND DEFENDANT
CHARLES MWANGI KING’ORI……………..…….……3RD DEFENDANT
GERALD MAINA KING’ORI……………………….……4TH DEFENDANT
PATRICK NJURU KING’ORI……………………….……5TH DEFENDANT
JAMES NGATIA………………………….……….……..…6TH DEFENDANT
WILIAM WAWERU KING’ORI………………….………7TH DEFENDANT
RULING
1. The Defendants filed an application on November 27, 2025, requesting the following orders:
a) Spent.
b) Whereas the orders, directions, and findings issued by this honorable court have found that the Applicants are the duly registered owners of the Suit Property Thengenge/Karia/38, including its subdivisions, being Thengenge/Karia/3596; Thengenge/Kairia/3597;Thengenge/Karia/3598;Thengenge/Karia/3599;Thengenge/Karia/3600;Thengenge/Karia/3601;Thengenge/Karia/3602, etc., the said orders, directions, and findings be hereby carried out by the re-survey and the drawing of a correct and true registry map and deed map by the office of the County Land Surveyor, and the same shall thereafter be duly registered by the County Land Registrar for issuance to the Applicants herein.
c) The above survey and restoration of the original beacons will be carried out under tight police supervision, with sufficient police security provided by the OCS Kamakwa Police Station.
d) Warrants of arrest do hereby issue to the OCPD Nyeri Central for any person, other than the Applicants, who is found on the land, the suit property Thengenge/Karia/38, including its subdivisions thereto, being Thengenge/Karia/3596; Thengenge/Karia/3597; Thengenge/Karia/3598;Thengenge/Karia/3599;Thengenge/Karia/3600; Thengenge/Karia/3601; Thengenge/Karia/3602, etc. The said OCPD Nyeri Central shall cause the said persons to be arrested and arraigned before the Magistrates Court at Nyeri Law Courts for prosecution for the offense of Trespass under sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Trespass Act.
e) The Defendants' movable property and structures located on the suit property Thengenge/Karia/38, including its subdivisions Thengenge/Karia/3596;Thengenge/Karia/3557;Thengenge/Karia/3598;Thengenge/Karia/3599;Thengenge/Karia/3600;Thengenge/Karia/3601; Thengenge/Karia/8602, etc., be auctioned, and the proceeds therefrom be paid to the Applicants, as owners of the land, under section 12 of the Trespass Act.
f) Costs.
2. The Application is supported by the affidavit of the 1st Defendant/Applicant, who deposed that this Court has made several rulings and judgments between the parties herein, culminating in the last ruling dated 17th October 2024, which found that the Applicants are the duly registered and bona fide registered proprietors of the suit land Thengenge/ Karia/38, after a long-running series of litigation from 1961 to 2024.
3. In an unfortunate turn of events, on the 21st of August 2019, Police in Nyeri received a report of the murder of her brother, one James Ngatia King'ori, the 6th Applicant’s Estate herein.
4. For this reason, they seek a court order directing the OCS Kamakwa police station to provide sufficient security during the survey and restoration of the original beacons.
5. That it is only just that the application is granted for provision of security to protect their inalienable constitutional rights of the Applicants to own property.
The Plaintiffs/Respondents’ replying affidavit.
6. The 4th Plaintiff/Respondent swore an affidavit in response to the instant application herein and deposed that the instant application is misconceived, vexatious, and frivolous, and that it should be dismissed because the issues raised in this application regarding Thegenge/Karia/3596 to Thegenge/Karia/3602 have been raised in earlier suits and applications. This Court has found them to be res judicata.
7. As advised by her Advocate, litigation must come to an end, or the Applicants must be stopped from trying to circumvent the law. The Applicants are perennial litigants and should be declared vexatious litigants for filing frivolous, repetitive, and vexatious suits and/or applications.
8. They contend that, insofar as the application has no basis, it should be dismissed.
9. Parties filed written submissions, which the Court has duly read and considered.
Analysis and determination
10. The Applicants herein claim that this Court ruled on October 17, 2024, that the Applicants are the duly registered and bona fide proprietors of the suit land Thengenge/ Karia/38. They pray that the said orders, directions, and findings be carried out by conducting a re-survey and drawing a correct and true registry map and deed map by the office of the County Land Surveyor, that the same be thereafter duly registered by the County Land Registrar, and that the survey be conducted under tight security.
11. However, a plain reading of the ruling dated October 17, 2024, reveals that, in determining the Defendants' application dated October 9, 2023, seeking permanent injunctive orders against the Plaintiffs herein, Olola J. held that the application was res judicata because the parties were attempting to relitigate under a new title, despite matters relating to the suit property herein having been dealt with in Nyeri HCCC Nos. 3 of 1973 and 165 of 1988, and dismissed the application with costs.
12. It is therefore bewildering that the Defendants herein assert that this Court found them to be the legal proprietors of the suit property. Any orders issued in other suits are not the same as those in this suit, and the Defendants should pursue those orders, if any, rather than abuse the process of the Court in this suit.
13. This Court has the inherent power to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the Court's process, as per Section 3A of the Civil Procedure Act Cap 21.
14. Consequently, Defendants' Application dated 27th November 2025 is hereby dismissed with costs.
Dated, signed, and delivered virtually in Nyeri on this 23rd day of July 2026
E. K. MAKORI
JUDGE
In the presence of:
Mr. Majau for the Applicants
Mr.Makura for the Respondents
Denis - Court Assistant
| ELC NO. 719 OF 2014 Page 2 of 2 |