DNK International By Our Reporter,Nairobi.
The Environment and Land Court in Nairobi has dismissed an application by former Nairobi PC and businessman Davis Nathan Chelogoi seeking to block criminal proceedings linked to a long running dispute over prime land in the Loresho area.
In a ruling delivered on March 5, 2026, judge O.A.Angote declined to grant Chelogoi leave to institute judicial review proceedings challenging a directive issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) authorising the arrest and prosecution of individuals occupying the contested parcel of land.
Chelogoi had moved to court seeking orders to quash a letter dated July 24, 2025 in which the DPP directed investigators to arrest and charge persons found on the land with offences including forcible detainer and trespass.
He also sought orders prohibiting authorities from evicting him or his workers from the property.
The applicant argued that the directive was unlawful and amounted to an indirect eviction despite ongoing civil proceedings concerning ownership of the land.
He maintained that he had occupied the property for nearly three decades and that previous court rulings had allowed him to remain in possession pending the determination of the dispute.
Chelogoi further claimed that investigators acted unfairly by relying solely on allegations made by rival claimants to the land without giving him an opportunity to present his side of the story.
However, the prosecution and investigators opposed the application, arguing that the decision to charge suspects followed investigations and was made independently in accordance with constitutional and statutory mandates.
They also maintained that the existence of civil proceedings does not bar criminal prosecution where evidence of an offence exists.
In dismissing the application, the court found that Chelogoi had not met the legal threshold required to obtain leave to commence judicial review proceedings.
The judge noted that the person directly affected by the DPP’s directive was an employee who had been arrested on the property, yet that individual had neither challenged the decision nor been joined in the case.
“The non-joinder of the person allegedly directly affected by the impugned decision… is fatal,” the court held.
The court also observed that civil and criminal proceedings can run concurrently and that the applicant had not demonstrated an arguable case with a reasonable chance of success.
As a result, the court dismissed Chelogoi’s application dated August 1, 2025 with costs, allowing the prosecution process arising from the investigations to proceed.
[DNK-International@March 6,2026]
