Court orders flouted as justice system faces growing defiance

When the Kenyan courts pronounce themselves in disputes following years or decades of tussles, parties winning the cases celebrate, and the majority show a sigh of relief.

However, whatever transpires after the courts’ verdict has left very little to be desired with litigants complaining of non-compliance with court’s orders, decrees and verdicts, especially in civil cases.

Judgments entered against the government have been ignored, while litigants winning land and succession cases have found it hard to enjoy properties, despite fighting so hard, due to resistances.

On March 12, 2025 some 700 descendants of freedom fighters won a land dispute against some 200 squatters. Justice Anthony Ombwayo declared the descendants, owners of a 100-acre land in Njoro, Nakuru County.

The court ordered Njoro Golf Club squatters to vacate the land within 90 days or face eviction by June 2025.

Kamanga Mukonyoro, a freedom fighter had waited since early 1990s for the case to be concluded. However, to date, he has been unable to evict the squatters.

According to his son, James Maina, some of the squatters had refused to vacate part of the land they had been calling home for decades.

“We advised them to vacate the land but they refused,” he told The Standard.

Maina said that the eviction order had created enmity between the two groups and despite relying on the court’s decree, they faced resistance.

“We engaged our lawyers and attempted to reason with the opposing parties, but they refused and appealed,” he said.

Despite appeal, no stay was issued and the Mau Mau descendants were forced to move back to the court to seek a compelling order.

On June 25, Justice Ombwayo issued an eviction orders to the squatters, for refusing to vacate the premises despite losing the dispute. He gave them a grace period of three months.

The judge was also forced to order the Officer Commanding Njoro Police Station to provide security to the families and auctioneers to maintain law and order during the eviction.

Mukonyoro and his descendants won the case after proving that they were allocated the land by former President Daniel Moi in 1986 as an appreciation and they paid Sh820,000 for the land.

Rift Valley Law Society of Kenya chair Aston Muchela has found himself at the centre of troubles in trying to implement verdicts of two of the cases he has handled.

Muchela represented a client who was injured in a road accident involving a government vehicle but will have to wait until next year to start the process of implementing the judgment.

“We won the case and my client was substantially compensated but the new accounting officer who is unaware of the case said that we will have to wait for budgetary approval in the next year,” said Muchela.

He said they are also finding it hard to attach government properties for auctioning because of the approval processes.

He said that since the government’s decisions are made in the national level, government officers within the region find it hard to implement the court orders and sometime refuse.

“Most compensation cases you deal with accounting officers who have no idea about your case and take time to understand. It makes it hard to be implemented,” he said.

He said that judgements targeting high ranking government officials, especially the Principal Secretaries (PS) are the toughest because if they are ignored, most litigants cannot institute contempt proceedings against the PSs.

Muchela added that even if warrants of arrests are issued against the PSs, the same must be approved by the Inspector General of Police, who are always reluctant to do so.

In his second case, involving a private property in Narok, Muchela said that although his client won the case, he has found it hard to evict more 300 families living on the land.

“My client has been left with what we describe to as paper judgment because the cost of evicting the 300 families is very high,” said Muchela.

He added that auctioneers ask for a lot of money and most of the people trying to enforce the judgements are middle class.

He however, challenged the government and litigants who lose cases to obey court’s decision and implement them.

“Kenyans do not want to follow the law and as a country we have to change the attitude and develop good habits of following the law,” said Muchela.

Despite the land court stopping any interference on possession of a 6,000 acres in Angata Barikoi, Narok County, police forced entry on April 28, leaving five dead and scores injured.

Since April, the matter has been under investigations to date, with no one arrested or charged before the court for the killings and chaos.

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), reported that the five were shot dead on the land they legally possessed and the same was in defiance of a court order.

According to KNCHR, it is difficult for the civil societies to push for obedience of courts decision and fight for justice of aggrieved Kenyans who have suffered.

In April this year, some 50 girls from Butere Girls’ High School found it hard to perform their ‘Echoes of War’ play in drama festivals held in Nakuru, despite court giving a verdict in their favour.

In utter disobedience of court directions, security agencies not only frustrated the students’ performances but used excessive force in the buildup to the event on April 10.

On April 9, the officers teargassed journalists and at the same time barred the playwright, former Senator Cleophas Malala from rehearsing with the students. Six journalists were injured.

The following day, the police teargassed the students and residents of Nakuru who went in solidarity to watch the play.

President William Ruto made it public on January 3, 2024 in Nyandarua that he would defy court orders stopping construction of affordable housing units, roads and other projects.

According to Ruto, the government would ignore court orders that he claimed were meant to derail the agenda of his Kenya Kwanza government, especially those by alleged corrupt judges.