Litigant told to accept bitter truth on his 27-year suit

By NANCY AKINYI

The court has warned a man against filling further suits against a bank after losing the case 27 years ago.

Three Court of Appeal judges said they would award costs against Mr James Mwakio if he files another suit against the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) touching on the same case.

In the case, Mwakio lost a prime property to KCB in 1983. He appealed against the High Court decision a year later, and appeared before Justices A A Kneller, A R Winston Hancox and J O Nyarangi.

The three judges directed Justice D C Porter to hear the case afresh and he dismissed it on April 14, 1988.

The judge said although Mwakio was a layman prosecuting the case himself, he should be advised the court cannot re-write a judgment that had been delivered.

"He habours a deep sense of grievance on the loss of his property… but he must know this court has no jurisdiction to re-write a delivered judgment in any other manner," he said.

Mwakio appealed again appearing before Justices Evan Gicheru, Philip Tunoi and A B Shah, who also dismissed the case.

Justices Erastus Githinji, Philip Waki and William Deverell also dismissed it. On Tuesday, Justices R Omolo, Emmanuel O’Kubasu and Onyango Otieno ruled: "The sooner the applicant accepts this bitter truth, the better."