Legitimate Expectation

“What is legitimate expectation? According to Harry Woolf, Jeffrey Jowell, and Andrew Le Sueur at page 609 of the 6th Edition of De Smith’s Judicial Review, “Such an expectation arises where a decision-maker has led someone affected by the decision to believe that he will receive or retain a benefit or advantage (including that a hearing will be held before a decision is taken).” It follows therefore that the cornerstone of legitimate expectation is a promise made to a party by a public body that it will act or not act in a certain manner. For the promise to hold, the same must be made within the confines of the law. A public body cannot make a promise which goes against the express letter of the law. In the case before me, there is no evidence of a written or verbal promise made to the Applicant that its goods would be allowed into Kenya once he obtained the necessary licenses. One may argue that the legitimate expectation was based on the understanding that goods from Uganda would be admitted into Kenya at a duty rate of 0%. However, that argument cannot hold when one considers the fact that the respondent has a statutory duty to ensure that all the necessary taxes for goods entering Kenya have been paid. The Applicant’s argument that its legitimate expectation was breached therefore fails.”