JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
BACKGROUND
1. Jurisdiction is a fundamental issue to a court when it comes to any dispute before it. Its centrality is well captured by the definition given by John Beecroft Saunders in his treatise, Words and Phrases Legally Defined Vol. 3: I-N at Page 113:
“By jurisdiction is meant the authority which a Court has to decide matters that are litigated before it or to take cognisance of matters presented in a formal way for its decision... Where a Court takes upon itself to exercise a jurisdiction which it does not possess, its decision amounts to nothing. Jurisdiction must be acquired before judgment is given.”
In Owners of the Motor Vessel “Lillian S” v. Caltex Oil (Kenya) Ltd [1989] eKLR, Nyarangi, JA, as he then was, stated as follows:
“Jurisdiction is everything. Without it, a court has no power to make one more step. Where a court has no jurisdiction, there would be no basis for a continuation of proceedings pending other evidence. A court of law down tools in re…