Republic v Anti-Counterfeit Authority & Attorney General Exparte Bloomberg Egoli Ltd [2020] KEHC 1242 (KLR)

REPUBLIC OF KENYA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA

AT NAIROBI

JUDICIAL REVIEW APPLICATION NO. E1135 OF 2020

BETWEEN

BLOOMBERG EGOLI LTD.............................................................................APPLICANT

VERSUS

ANTI-COUNTERFEIT AUTHORITY....................................................1ST RESPONDENT

ATTORNEY GENERAL...........................................................................2ND RESPONDENT

RULING

1. Bloomberg Egoli Ltd , the Applicant herein, has moved this Court by way of a Chamber Summons application dated 13th November 2020, which is supported by verifying affidavit sworn on the same date by its Director.

2. The Applicant is seeking the following orders in its application:

(a) THAT the Court be pleased to grant leave to the Applicant herein to apply for Orders of Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus against the executive Director and the Commissioner Ant-Counterfeit Authority from interfering with the Applicant's right to own property, run business and arbitrary confiscation of his goods for sale and or interfering with the business premises,

(b) THAT the Orders so granted of Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus do operate as a stay of impending destruction of goods impounded by the 1stRespondent.

(c) THAT service upon the Honourable Attorney General be dispensed with in the first instance.

3. A perusal of the said pleadings reveal the Applicant has not filed the annexures averred to in Paragraph 5 of its verifying affidavit in support of its case, and the application is not supported by a statement as required by Order 53 Rule1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and is therefore incompetently filed.

4. In the premises, I find that the threshold of an arguable case has not been met by the Applicant for the grant of leave, and I hereby order as follows:

i. The Applicant shall serve the Chamber Summons dated 13th November 2020 on the Respondents for inter partes hearing within fourteen (14) days of today’s date.

ii. The Applicant is also granted leave to file and serve its statutory statement and a supplementary affidavit annexing the evidence it is relying upon within fourteen (14) days of today’ date, failing which the Chamber Summons dated 13th November 2020 shall be struck out for being incompetently filed.

iii. The Respondents re also granted leave to file and serve their response to theChamber Summons dated 13th November 2020withinfourteen (14) daysof service.

iv. The Chamber Summons dated 13th November 2020 shall be heard on 2nd February 2021.

v. In view of the Ministry of Health directives on the safeguards to be observed to stem the spread of the current COVID-19 pandemic, this Court shall hear and determine the Applicant’s Chamber Summons dated 13th November 2020 on the basis of the electronic copies of the pleadings and the written submissions filed by the parties.

vi. The parties shall file their pleadings and submissions electronically, by filing them with the Judiciary e-filing system, and send copies by electronic mail to  the Deputy Registrar of the Judicial Review Division atjudicialreview48@gmail.com and asunachristine51@gmail.com.

vii. The service of pleadings and documents directed by the Court shall be by way of personal service andelectronic mail, and in the case of service by way of electronic mail, the parties shall also email a copy of the documents so served to the Deputy Registrar of the Judicial Review Division atjudicialreview48@gmail.comwith copies toasunachristine51@gmail.com.

viii. The parties shall also be required to file and send to the Deputy Registrar of the Judicial Review Division their respective affidavits of service evidencing personal service, by way of electronic mail tojudicialreview48@gmail.comwith copies toasunachristine51@gmail.com.

ix. The Deputy Registrar of the Judicial Review Division shall put this matter on the Division’s causelist for hearing on2nd February 2021.

x. The Deputy Registrar ofthe Judicial Review Division shall send a copy of this ruling to the Applicant by electronic mail by close of business onThursday,3rd December 2020.

xi. Parties shall be at liberty to apply.

5. Orders accordingly.

DATED AND SIGNED AT NAIROBI THIS  1ST DAY OF DECEMBER 2020

P. NYAMWEYA

JUDGE