As famously stated by Nyarangi JA in Owners of the Motor Vessel “Lillian S” v Caltex Oil (Kenya) Ltd [1989] eKLR: “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 continuing proceedings pending other evidence. A Court of law down tools in respect of the matter before it the moment it holds the opinion that it is without jurisdiction.”
Further, the Supreme Court of Kenya has numerously stated that Jurisdiction can only be conferred on a court by either the Constitution or statute. A court cannot expand its jurisdiction through judicial craft or innovation. See S.K. Macharia and Another v. Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. & 2 Others.
The Small Claims Act, Cap 10A “the Act” is the legal framework guiding the Small Claims Courts “the Court” in Kenya and it is the statute that confers powers to hear and determine claims to the said courts. Specifically, Section 12 states that:
1) Subject to this Act, the Rules and any other law, the Court has jurisdiction to determine any civil claim relating to—
(a) a contract for sale and supply of goods or services;
(b) a contract relating to money held and received;
(c) liability in tort in respect of loss or damage caused to any property or for the delivery or recovery of movable property;
(d) compensation for personal injuries; and
(e) set-off and counterclaim under any contract.

2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Court may exercise any other civil jurisdiction as may be conferred under any other written law.
3) The pecuniary jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to one million shillings.
Section 12(3) sets the pecuniary limit of Kshs 1 million, what this means is that if a claim exceeds that amount, the Claimant has to waive and forfeit the recovery of all sums in excess of Kshs 1 million.
Section 13 of the Act outlines certain cases the Court cannot hear, including:
1. Defamation, libel, slander.
2. Malicious prosecution.
3. Disputes over the title to or possession of land.
4. Employment and labor relations disputes.
This means that the Small Claims Court does not have jurisdiction to deal with these types of claims. The Court’s power to hear cases is strictly limited by the law, and it cannot expand its jurisdiction beyond what is set out in the Small Claims Court Act.