MALINDI, Kenya – A recent ruling by the Environment and Land Court has cast a shadow over the future of Kenya’s popular self-help groups, commonly known as chamas, raising questions about their legal status and ability to safeguard assets.
On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, Justice E.K. Makori dismissed a case brought by Lukas Masya against members of the Ukai Self-Help Group over land ownership in Mpeketoni, Lamu County.
Masya had accused fellow members of unlawfully subdividing community land into 14 parcels, with the intention of selling it, arguing that the loss would cause “irreversible harm” to the Kamba community living in the area.
“The land was purchased to unite the Kamba community living in Mpeketoni. Through its membership, relationships have developed and strengthened. Monetary compensation would be inadequate,” Masya told the court.
But the respondents disputed his claims, producing membership records dating back to 2014 that did not include his name. They argued that Masya was neither a member nor an official of the group and therefore had no legal standing to sue. The court agreed, noting that Masya’s reliance on a 1995 membership list was insufficient.
“The applicant is a stranger to the Ukai Self-Help Group, his ability to sue is therefore questionable. He cannot claim to sue on behalf of a group he is neither an official nor a member of,” Justice Makori ruled.
The judgment went further, striking at the very foundation of chamas. Justice Makori emphasized that self-help groups lack legal capacity to sue or be sued in their own names.
“Self-help groups having no legal personality cannot therefore institute proceedings in their own name. A person recognized in law had to sue on behalf of members of the Self-Help Group, and such members had to be named and identified with precision,” he said.
He warned that without a legal framework for recognition, self-help groups could even face being declared unlawful societies.
“It is clear that Self Help Groups are not incorporated bodies. In fact, I know of no law that recognizes them or incorporates them. Such groups, in the absence of a legal framework, indeed stand the risk of being declared unlawful societies,” the judge noted.
The ruling has major implications for millions of Kenyans who rely on chamas for savings, land purchases, investment, and welfare.
Without legal personality, these groups cannot independently hold property, sue, or defend themselves in court, leaving members vulnerable to fraud and asset loss.
For Masya, the court not only dismissed his application but also condemned the litigation as repetitive and an abuse of judicial process.
“If such suits exist, filing another one over the same subject matter amounts to abuse of the court process,” Justice Makori concluded.
The decision has now reignited debate over whether Kenya should urgently create a clear legal framework to recognize and regulate chamas, institutions deeply embedded in the country’s social and economic fabric.
