Civil Procedure Rules in Kenya

(1) When a suit has been filed a summons shall issue to the defendant ordering him to appear within the time specified therein. (2) Every summons shall be signed by the judge or an officer appointed by the judge and shall be sealed with the seal of the court without delay, and in any event not...

(1) A summons (other than a concurrent summons) shall be valid in the first instance for twelve months beginning with the date of its issue and a concurrent summons shall be valid in the first instance for the period of validity of the original summons which is unexpired at the date of issue of the...

Subject to any other written law, where the suit is against a corporation the summons may be served— (a) on the secretary, director or other principal officer of the corporation; or (b) if the process server is unable to find any of the officers of the corporation mentioned in rule 3(a)—...

(1) One or more concurrent summonses may, at the request of the plaintiff, be issued at the time when the original summons is issued or at any time thereafter before the original summons ceases to be valid. (2) A concurrent summons shall be valid only from the date of its own issue and shall...

(1) Where the court has issued summons to a defendant, the summons may be delivered for service— (a) to any person for the time being duly authorized by the court; (b) to an advocate, or advocate’s clerk approved by the court; (c) to any subordinate court having jurisdiction in the place where...

Service of the summons shall be made by delivering or tendering a duplicate thereof signed by the judge, or such officer as he appoints in this behalf, and sealed with the seal of the court.

Save as otherwise prescribed, where there are more defendants than one, service of the summons shall be made on each defendant.

(1) Wherever it is practicable, service shall be made on the defendant in person, unless he has an agent empowered to accept service, in which case service on the agent shall be sufficient. (2) A summons may be served upon an advocate who has instructions to accept service and to enter an...

(1) The provisions of this Order shall have effect subject to section 13 of the Government Proceedings Act (Cap. 40), which provides for the service of vdocuments on the Government for the purpose of or in connection with civil proceedings by or against the Government. (2) Service of a document in...

(1) In a suit relating to any business or work against a person who does not reside within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the court from which the summons is issued, service on any manager or agent, who at the time of service personally carries on such business or work for such person...

Where, in a suit to obtain relief respecting, or compensation for wrong to, immovable property, service cannot be made on the defendant in person, it may be made on an agent of the defendant empowered to accept service or on the agent of the defendant in charge of the property.

Where in any suit, after a reasonable number of attempts have been made to serve the defendant, and defendant cannot be found, service may be made on an agent of the defendant empowered to accept service or on any adult member of the family of the defendant who is residing with him.

Where a duplicate of the summons is duly delivered or tendered to the defendant personally or to an agent or other person on his behalf, the defendant or such agent or other person shall be required to endorse an acknowledgment of service on the original summons: Provided that, if the court is...

Where the serving officer, after using all due and reasonable diligence, cannot find the defendant, or any person on whom service can be made, the serving officer shall affix a copy of the summons on the outer door or some other conspicuous part of the house in which the defendant ordinarily resides...

(1) The serving officer in all cases in which summons has been served under any of the foregoing rules of this Order shall swear and annex or cause to be annexed to the original summons an affidavit of service stating the time when and the manner in which summons was served and the name and address...

On any allegation that a summons has not been properly served, the court may examine the serving officer on oath, or cause him to be so examined by another court, touching his proceedings, and may make such further inquiry in the matter as it thinks fit; and shall either declare that the summons has...

(1) Where the court is satisfied that for any reason the summons cannot be served in accordance with any of the preceding rules of this Order, the court may on application order the summons to be served by affixing a copy thereof in some conspicuous place in the court-house, and also upon some...

Where the defendant is confined in a prison, the summons shall be served on him personally in the presence of the officer in charge of the prison.

(1) Where the defendant is a public officer or an officer of a local authority, the court may, if it appears to it that the summons may be most conveniently so served, send it for service on the defendant to the head of the office in which he is employed, together with a copy to be retained by the...

(1) Where a summons is delivered or sent to any person for service under rule 18 or rule 19, such person shall be bound to serve it, if possible, and to return it under his signature with a written acknowledgment of the defendant, and such signature shall be deemed to be evidence of service....

Service out of Kenya of a summons or notice of a summons may be allowed by the court whenever— (a) the whole subject-matter of the suit is immovable property situate in Kenya (with or without rents and profits); (b) any act, deed, will, contract, obligation or liability affecting immovable...

(1) Service out of Kenya of the following process or of notice thereof may be allowed by the court by— (a) an originating summons, originating notice of motion, petition, or other originating proceedings under any written law under which proceedings can be commenced otherwise than by plaint;...

Without prejudice to the other rules in this Order, where— (a) leave to serve a summons or notice of a summons or other process has been allowed under rule 21 or 22; and (b) the contract provides that in the event of any suit in respect of the contract being begun, the process by which it is...

In probate, Mohammedan or Hindu marriage, divorce and succession suits, service of a summons or notice of a summons may by leave of the court be allowed out of Kenya.

Every application for leave to serve such summons or notice on a defendant out of Kenya shall be supported by affidavit or other evidence, stating that in the belief of the deponent the plaintiff has a good cause of action, and showing in what place or country such defendant is or probably may be...

Any order giving leave to effect such service or give such notice shall limit a time after such service or notice within which such defendant is to enter an appearance; such time to depend on the place or country where or within which the summons is to be served, or the notice given.

Where leave to serve a summons or notice of summons out of Kenya has been granted under rule 21, and the defendant is a Commonwealth citizen as defined in subsections (1) and (2) of section 95 of the Constitution or resides in any of the countries for the time being mentioned in subsection (3) of...

(1) Where the defendant is neither a Commonwealth citizen as aforesaid nor resides in any of the countries referred to in rule 27, notice of the summons and not the summons itself shall be served upon him. (2) Notice of summons shall be in Form No. 6 of Appendix A with such variations as the...

Where leave is given to serve notice of summons in a foreign country to which this rule may by order of the Chief Justice from time to time be applied, the following procedure shall be adopted— (a) the notice to be served shall be sealed with the seal of the High Court for use out of Kenya, and...

The court may direct that any summons, order or notice shall be served on any party or person in a foreign country, and the procedure prescribed by rule 27, with reference to service of notice of a summons, shall apply to service of any summons, order or notice so directed to be served.