[2001] KEHC 80 (KLR)
The court found that the dates of the alleged court orders purportedly disobeyed by the defendant were inconsistent and made no sense. The record did not clarify the meaning or existence of such orders on the stated dates. As a result, the application was deemed meaningless and incapable of being granted. The court...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2001] KEHC 80 (KLR)
- Parties
- Plaintiff: Andrew Ombati Nyambati; Defendant: Giro Commercial Bank Limited
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Commercial Courts)
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- ? 1770 of ??
- Procedural Posture
- Civil Case / Ruling on Notice of Motion for Contempt
- Outcome
- application struck out with costs
- Legal Topics
- Contempt of Court, Enforcement of Orders, Striking Out Applications
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Andrew Ombati Nyambati
Plaintiff
Giro Commercial Bank Limited
Defendant
Procedural Posture
Civil Case / Ruling on Notice of Motion for Contempt
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the application for committal for contempt is competent given the inconsistencies in the dates of the alleged court orders.
- 2 Whether the application discloses a valid basis for the relief sought.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the dates of the alleged court orders purportedly disobeyed by the defendant were inconsistent and made no sense. The record did not clarify the meaning or existence of such orders on the stated dates. As a result, the application was deemed meaningless and incapable of being granted. The court therefore struck out the application with costs, holding that a valid application for contempt must be anchored on a clear and unambiguous court order.
Court Disposition
application struck out with costs
Orders
- The Notice of Motion application is struck out with costs to the defendant.
- The applicant is at liberty to bring a fresh application.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
6 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI
MILIMANI COMMERCIAL COURTS
CIVIL CASE NO. 1770 OF 2000ANDREW OMBATI NYAMBATI ……………………… PLAINTIFFVERSUSGIRO COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED ………..… DEFENDANTRULING This Notice of Motion application has been brought under O. XXXIX Rules 2A (2) and O. L Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, Section 3A of the Civil Procedure Act and the Judicature Act for an order that the General Manager of the defendant Mr. M. P. Sastry be detained in prison for a term not exceeding 6 months for disobeying a court order purportedly made on 10. 5.2001 and 29. 6.2001 and extended on 25. 9.2000. Although the subject of this ruling is the preliminary point of law which Mr. Kipkorir for the defendant has raised, having carefully looked at the main prayer made in the application, I feel constrained to dismiss the application for another reason. As stated above, the court order allegedly disobeyed is said to have been made on “10th May, 2001 and 29th June, 2001” and extended on “29th September 2000”. In my view these dates do not make any sense. My attempts to get some meaning from them by reference to the record proved unsuccessful. In view of that, the prayer is meaningless and cannot be granted. The application is for that reason struck out with costs. The applicant is at liberty to bring a fresh application.
Dated at Nairobi this 15th day of June, 2001. T. MBALUTO JUDGE