The Environmental Case Law Index is a collection of judgments from 10 African countries on topics relating to environmental law, both substantive and procedural. The collection focuses on cases where an environmental interest interacts with governmental or private interests.
Get started on finding judgments that are relevant to you by browsing the topic list on the left of the screen. Click the arrows next to the topic names to reveal a detailed list of sub-topics. Most judgments are accompanied by a short summary written by subject-area expert postgraduate students from the University of Cape Town.
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Joseph Leboo & 2 others v Director Kenya Forest Services & another [2013] eKLR (Environment and Land 273 of 2013); (01 October 2013); 
Injunction Injuctions and interdicts Civil Remedies Sustainable development Concepts and principles Environmental law Public interest in environment Environmental decision-making Environmental law Public participation Human and environmental rights Environmental law Locus standi in environmental litigation Litigation of environmental issues Environmental law EL IndexThis was an application for an injunction order by the plaintiffs to restrain the defendants from harvesting trees without consulting and involving the community. The court had to decide on the following: whether a community that was a beneficiary of a forest had capacity to commence proceedings against the illegal and irregular harvesting of timber and fuel wood materials from the forest; whether public participation was mandatory in the management of forests; and whether the Director of Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the first defendant, could be sued in their capacity as a director.
The court held that there were no provisions in law which barred any suit against the first defendant in that capacity. The court observed that the community had an interest in the preservation and sustainable use of the forest. As such, public participation was an important component of environmental management as enshrined in the constitution. However, the court pointed out that there was no public participation that was demonstrated by the respondents. On the lack of a management plan by the KFS, the court held that it was difficult to know when a tree was planted or harvested, thus creating difficulty to prove which trees were to be cut. The court held that the balance of convenience weighed in favour of the applicants because environmental interests far-outweighed private interests.
Accordingly, the court ordered the respondents to stop harvesting trees, pending the hearing of the suit.
Republic v National Environment Tribunal & 2 others Ex-parte Abdulhafidh Sheikh Ahmed Zubeidi [2013] eKLR (Miscellaneous Civil Application 155 of 2012); (02 August 2013); Procedural Fairness Justice and fairness Civil Procedure Sustainable development Concepts and principles Environmental law Locus standi in environmental litigation Litigation of environmental issues Environmental law EL IndexThe matter dealt with the issue of jurisdiction arising out of a dispute regarding the development of residential flats by the ex parte applicant.
The court considered whether the National Environment Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear and determine Tribunal Appeal No. 74 of 2011. Under section 129(1) of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, a person who did not participate in the Environmental Impact Assessment study process for the development, in the process of approval or complaint cannot be said to have been an aggrieved by the process which led to the issuance of the licence as no decision could be said to have been made against him. If the tribunal purports to entertain such an appeal under the aforesaid section, the tribunal would be acting ultra vires its authority, hence its decision would be liable to be quashed.
In this case, it was clear that the appeal in issue did not fall within section 129(1) since the second respondent was not a participant in the licensing process. It followed that the limitation period provided under section 129(1) did not apply to the second respondent since, in the court’s view, that limitation only applied to a person appealing pursuant to section 129(1).
There was no evidence that the second respondent was barred from appealing by any other provision in the act or regulations. Accordingly, the court found that the second respondent was entitled under section 129(2) to appeal against the decision of the authority.
The Notice of Motion was dismissed.
Joseph Letuya & 21 others v Attorney General & 5 others [2014] eKLR (Elc Civil Suit 821 of 2012 (Os)); (17 March 2014); Declaratory Relief Civil Remedies Constitutional Interpretation Constitutional Law Sustainable development Concepts and principles Environmental law Land use Human exploitation of the environment Environmental law EL IndexThe court considered an application by which the applicants sought an order declaring that their right to life had been contravened by forcible eviction and by settlement of other persons on their land. The applicants were members of the Ogiek community who had been living in East Mau Forest for decades, as food gatherers and hunters. Upon the introduction of colonial rule, the land was declared a forest, however, no land was set aside for the applicants.
The court set out the issues as follows: whether the members of the community had recognizable rights arising from their occupation of the forest; whether in the circumstances of the case, their rights had been infringed by their eviction and allocation of other persons; and whether the settlement was ultra vires.
The court found that the right to a livelihood did not have a definition and could be included in the right to life. Thus, their livelihood was directly dependent on forest resources to sustain their way of life. Further, the court held that the applicants were a minority group who had lost their access to land and their right to live in the forests which was key to their livelihood, thus their rights had been infringed.Finally, the court found that there were significant irregularities made during the allocation of land, thus the settlement scheme was ultra vires and the applicants were therefore entitled to the relief sought.
Accordingly, the application was upheld.
Charles Lekuyen Nabori & 9 others v Attorney General & 3 others [2008] eKLR (Petition 466 of 2006); (11 December 2008); EL Index Public interest in environment Environmental decision-making Environmental law Environmental damages Environmental remedies Sustainable development Concepts and principles Environmental law Environmental duties Concepts and principles Environmental law Constitutional Interpretation Constitutional LawSea Star Malindi Ltd v Kenya Wildlife Services & 2 others [2002] eKLR (Miscellaneous Civil Suit 982 of 1997); (08 November 2002); EL Index Public interest in environment Environmental decision-making Environmental law Judicial Review Appeals and reviews Civil Procedure Wildlife (fauna) Flora and fauna Environmental law Sustainable development Concepts and principles Environmental law Protected areas (general) Environmental decision-making Environmental law |
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