Kang'oroti v Gikungi & another (Environment and Land Case 24 of 2014) [2026] KEELC 3576 (KLR) (11 June 2026) (Ruling)

Kang'oroti v Gikungi & another (Environment and Land Case 24 of 2014) [2026] KEELC 3576 (KLR) (11 June 2026) (Ruling) Neutral citation: [2026] KEELC 3576 (KLR) Republic of Kenya In the Environment and Land Court at Embu Environment and Land Case 24 of 2014 EC Cherono, J June 11, 2026 Between Bernard Njagi Kang'Oroti Plaintiff and Njagi Gikungi 1st Defendant Lucy Wanjiku Magondu 2nd Defendant Ruling 1.This Ruling concerns a Notice of Motion Application dated 18th February 2026, filed by the Plaintiff/Applicant, Bernard Njagi Kang'oroti (hereinafter "the Applicant"). The Applicant seeks the following Orders:a.That the Deputy Registrar do execute the necessary transfer and related documents for the transfer of Land Reference Numbers Mbeti/Gachuriri/1831, 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835 to the Plaintiff in terms of Limbs 4 and 5 of the Decree dated 6th October 2023 in Civil Appeal No. 94 of 2019 at Nyeri;b.That the costs of this Application be borne by the Respondents. 2.The Application is supported by the Applicant's own Affidavit sworn on 18th February 2026, and is premised on the following salient grounds: first, that the Land Registrar – Kiritiri has insisted that the Judgment Debtors must personally execute the necessary transfer documents to give effect to the Decree of the Court of Appeal dated 6th October 2023; and secondly, that the Respondents have been unco-operative and have refused to execute the said transfer documents, necessitating the present Application. 3.Despite being duly served with the Application, the Respondents have not filed any replying affidavit or response, and the matter accordingly proceeded as an unopposed Application. Background 4.The Applicant deposes that this matter has a protracted litigation history. A Decree was entered by this Court on 13th March 2019 in favour of the Respondents. Aggrieved by that outcome, the Applicant appealed to the Court of Appeal, which on 6th October 2023, in Civil Appeal No. 94 of 2019 – Bernard Mbuti Kang'oroti v Njagi Gikungi & Lucy Wanjiku Magondu – reversed the Decree of this Court and entered judgment in favour of the Applicant, which included orders for the transfer of Land Reference Numbers Mbeti/Gachuriri/1831, 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the suit parcels") to the Applicant pursuant to Limbs 4 and 5 of that Decree. 5.In furtherance of implementing the said Decree, the Applicant approached the Land Registrar – Kiritiri. However, the Land Registrar took the position that the Decree of the Court of Appeal could only be given effect through the execution of transfer instruments by the Judgment Debtors themselves. The Respondents, on account of what the Applicant describes as "litigational animosity", have refused and/or neglected to execute the necessary transfer instruments, thereby rendering the Decree incapable of implementation without the intervention of this Court. Issue for Determination 6.The singular issue that falls for determination is whether this Court has jurisdiction and power to direct the Deputy Registrar to execute the transfer documents in lieu of the Judgment Debtors so as to give effect to the Court of Appeal's Decree dated 6th October 2023. Analysis and Determination 7.Order 22 Rule 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010 (Cap 21, Sub. Leg.) is the foundational provision governing the situation at hand. It provides as follows:“Where a decree is for the execution of a document or for the endorsement of a negotiable instrument, and the party against whom the decree has been passed refuses or neglects to execute the document or to make the endorsement required, the court may on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, cause the document to be executed or the negotiable instrument to be endorsed in the name and on behalf of such party, and the execution or endorsement of the document or instrument so effected shall have the same effect as if it had been executed or endorsed by such party." 8.The present Application squarely invokes this provision. The Court of Appeal's Decree of 6th October 2023 unambiguously directed the transfer of the suit parcels to the Applicant. The Applicant has presented uncontroverted evidence that the Land Registrar – Kiritiri requires execution of transfer instruments by the Judgment Debtors, and that the Respondents have refused to so execute, making it practically impossible to implement a subsisting superior court decree. 9.It is settled law that a court is obliged to give full effect to its decrees and those of superior courts, and that a party cannot be allowed to derive benefit from their own wrongful refusal to honour a court decree. In Nzioka & 2 Others v Mutungi & Another [2014] eKLR, the Court underscored that the power under Order 22 Rule 36 exists precisely to prevent a judgment debtor from rendering a decree nugatory through obstruction and non-compliance. The Court held that where a decree requires execution of a document and the judgment debtor refuses or neglects to do so, the Court has the jurisdiction and, indeed, the duty to cause the document to be executed through the instrumentality of an officer of the court. 10.Similarly, in Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd v Kenya Hotels Ltd & Another [2014] eKLR, the Court observed that courts of law exercise not merely adjudicative but also execution functions, and that the interests of justice demand that decrees be fully and timeously implemented. Any deliberate obstruction of decree implementation, including a refusal to execute transfer instruments, falls squarely within the contemplation of Order 22 Rule 36. 11.The duty of the court to enforce its own decrees is also constitutionally anchored. Article 10(2)(c) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 enjoins the State and all State organs – which include courts – to observe the rule of law. It would be antithetical to the rule of law to permit a subsisting and binding decree to remain unimplemented merely because a recalcitrant judgment debtor refuses to participate in the execution process. The Court of Appeal's Decree of 6th October 2023 is the law as between these parties, and it must be enforced. 12.In the present case, the Respondents have not contested the Application. The Applicant's averments regarding the Land Registrar's requirement and the Respondents' refusal to execute stand uncontroverted. The Decree relied upon is clear and specific in its terms, and it is the function of this Court to ensure its full implementation. 13.I am therefore satisfied that this Application is meritorious and that the Applicant has made out a proper case for the orders sought. There is no legal or factual basis upon which this court ought to decline the prayer. The Deputy Registrar of this Court is an officer of the Court clothed with the authority to execute documents on behalf of parties who refuse or neglect to do so in compliance with a court decree, pursuant to Order 22 Rule 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules. 14.Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons, the Application is hereby allowed. The Court makes the following Orders:i.The Deputy Registrar of this Court is hereby directed and authorized to execute all necessary transfer instruments and any related registration documents in respect of Land Reference Numbers Mbeti/Gachuriri/1831, 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835 on behalf of the 1st and 2nd Defendants/Respondents, for the purpose of giving effect to Limbs 4 and 5 of the Decree of the Court of Appeal dated 6th October 2023 in Civil Appeal No. 94 of 2019, so as to vest title in the said parcels in the Plaintiff/Applicant.ii.The Land Registrar – Kiritiri is directed to give effect to and register the said transfers executed pursuant to Order (i) above and to complete all necessary registration formalities to vest title in the Plaintiff/Applicant.iii.The costs of this Application are awarded to the Applicant, to be borne by the Respondents.Orders accordingly. DATED, DELIVERED AND SIGNED AT EMBU THIS 11TH DAY OF JUNE, 2026HON. E.C CHERONOELC JUDGE, EMBUIn the presence of;Mr. Njagi Wanjeru for the Plaintiff/Applicant-presentRespondent/Advocate-absentRuth C/A