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Citation
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Judgment date
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| August 2022 |
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Road remained a district road (33 feet); claimants failed to prove pre‑proclamation private title and are not entitled to compensation.
Highways Ordinance – road classification and width; Width Rules 1967 – applicability only to specified classes; burden of proof in land claims within road reserve; Operation Vijiji and Village Land Act – validation does not override reserved road land; trespassers on road reserve not entitled to compensation.
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3 August 2022 |
| July 2022 |
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Cautioned statement properly admitted; age found over eighteen; conviction and death sentence upheld.
Criminal procedure – admissibility of cautioned statements – timing and voluntariness under s.50 CPA; addition/tendering of exhibits – objection at trial; age of accused – proof and credibility of parental evidence vis-à-vis documentary proof; sentencing inquiries under s.320 CPA and applicability of s.26(2) Penal Code (death penalty for persons under 18).
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28 July 2022 |
| June 2022 |
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Claims to deceased spouse's matrimonial assets must be pursued in probate/administration, not a matrimonial suit.
Matrimonial property – Proper forum for distribution after death; Probate and Administration jurisdiction; Law of Marriage Act s.76 and s.114; administratrix properly impleaded as estate representative; procedural misjoinder – remedy of nullification and quashing of proceedings.
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15 June 2022 |
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A divorce petition lacking a valid conciliatory board certificate is incompetent and renders resultant orders a nullity.
Family law — Divorce — Mandatory pre‑petition conciliatory board certificate (Law of Marriage Act ss.101, 106(2); Reg.9(2)) — Board’s duty to hear parties and set out findings (s.104(1),(5)) — Certificate that merely repeats allegations is invalid — Absence of valid certificate is jurisdictional, rendering divorce proceedings nullity.
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14 June 2022 |
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Omission in the charge was curable; victim’s identification and corroborating evidence upheld; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Gang rape – defective charge omitting substantive offence provision – curability under section 388(1) CPA; Preliminary hearing – failure to record memorandum of matters not in dispute – nullification of preliminary hearing only; Evidence – non‑compliance with s.210(3) CPA curable absent shown prejudice; Identification – visual ID at night may be reliable where proximity, duration, mobile light and corroboration exist; Failure to call all listed witnesses does not automatically attract adverse inference; Defence considered and properly rejected.
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14 June 2022 |
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A licencee who occupies land by permission cannot acquire ownership by adverse possession despite prolonged occupation and improvements.
Land law – adverse possession – possession must be adverse to true owner’s title and cannot arise from the owner’s permission or licence. Licencee/invitee – status does not change to ownership by mere long occupation or improvements. Acquiescence and prescription – doctrines attendant to adverse possession; inapplicable where occupation is permissive. Evidence of burial and development – not determinative to defeat owner’s title when initial occupation was by consent.
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14 June 2022 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause under s.361(2) CPA; delay unexplained and extension refused.
Criminal procedure – Extension of time to appeal – s.361(2) CPA – requirement to show good cause – applicant must account for each day of delay; vague assertions of prejudice or prospects of success are insufficient; incarceration requires specific pleading of hindrance by prison authorities.
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14 June 2022 |
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The appellant’s night-time identification was unsafe and the prosecution failed to prove armed robbery beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Visual identification at night – need for careful scrutiny of lighting, observation time and distance – possibility of mistaken identity even where witness knows accused. Criminal law – Standard of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; weak identification/contradictory evidence undermines conviction. Appeal – Concurrent findings of fact – appellate interference warranted where lower courts misapprehend or over-rely on unsafe identification evidence.
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14 June 2022 |
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Financial hardship did not constitute good cause to extend time to file appeal; application dismissed.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Application under Rule 10 – Requirement to show 'good cause' – Lyamuya guidelines applied: account for all days, avoid inordinate delay, show diligence. Financial hardship – Held not necessarily sufficient to establish good cause where applicant fails to account for delay. Failure to state grounds in notice of motion and failure to account for days of delay disentitle applicant from discretionary extension.
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14 June 2022 |
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Court upheld rape conviction: victim's credible account and medical evidence proved penetration and under‑18 age.
Criminal law – Rape – Elements: penetration and age under 18 – Victim’s credible testimony can suffice; corroboration by medical evidence. Evidence – Credibility – Trial court’s demeanor-based assessment exclusive; relatives’ testimony admissible and may be credible. Criminal procedure – Appellate review – No misdirection where evidence is coherent and properly evaluated.
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14 June 2022 |
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Failure to serve the notice of appeal under Rule 84(1) rendered the appeal incompetent and it was struck out.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Service of notice of appeal — Rule 84(1) Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 — Non‑compliance renders appeal incompetent; Preliminary objection; Labour dispute — costs.
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14 June 2022 |
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Failure to explain assessors' duties was curable; reliable identification proved attempted murder and appeal was dismissed.
Criminal procedure — Assessors — Omission to explain assessors' duties — Curable irregularity under section 388 CPA where assessors fully participate. Criminal procedure — Compliance with section 266(1) CPA (recording assessors' ages) — No demonstrated prejudice. Evidence — Alibi defence — Requirement of credibility and supporting particulars; trial court may reject weak or inconsistent alibis. Criminal law — Attempted murder — Elements (intent, means, overt act, intervening event) under sections 211(a) and 380 Penal Code — Identification evidence may suffice. Sentencing — Trial court discretion — appellate interference only for manifestly excessive sentences.
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14 June 2022 |
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Warrantless search of dwelling without independent witness or seizure receipt rendered evidence inadmissible; conviction quashed.
Criminal procedure — Search and seizure — Warrantless entry of dwelling — Requirement for warrant or valid emergency exception under CPA — Independent witness and seizure receipt required; co-accused cannot be independent witness. Wildlife Conservation Act — Search powers subject to general CPA safeguards. Evidence — Illegally obtained exhibit has no evidential value; failure to prove case beyond reasonable doubt.
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14 June 2022 |
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Appellant's rape conviction upheld; thirty-year custodial sentence set aside for corporal-punishment-only rule for an eighteen-year-old first offender.
Criminal law – Rape – conviction upheld on appellant's admission and medical evidence even where child witness oath-compliance under section 127(2) contested; non-compliance not necessarily fatal. Evidence – second appeal limitation – factual issues not raised in first appeal cannot be entertained on second appeal. Sentencing – Penal Code s.131(2) mandates corporal punishment for a boy aged eighteen or less who is a first offender; custodial sentence thus illegal; appellate court may set aside and substitute sentence under revisional powers.
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10 June 2022 |
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Visual identification and corroborative evidence upheld; alibi unproven and procedural irregularity harmless; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – application of Waziri Amani factors (time, distance, light, prior knowledge, and prompt identification) to avoid mistaken identity. Evidence – corroboration – testimony of employer and employees can be credible when coherent and independently corroborated (village chairman, medical PF3). Defence – alibi – burden on accused to provide credible, watertight evidence to raise reasonable doubt. Procedure – non‑compliance with s.240(3) CPA may be cured under s.388 if no prejudice shown.
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9 June 2022 |
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Victim's credible testimony upheld grave sexual abuse conviction; defective abduction citation cured and sentence reduced.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Grave sexual abuse: victim's evidence may suffice where detailed and corroborated. Criminal procedure – Defective charge – Citation of wrong Penal Code section curable under section 388 CPA if particulars avert prejudice. Appellate review – Concurrent findings of fact by trial and first appellate courts will not be disturbed absent misapprehension or miscarriage of justice.
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9 June 2022 |
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Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove ownership, chain of custody, and applicability of recent possession.
Criminal law – Burglary and stealing – proof beyond reasonable doubt – doctrine of recent possession – requirements and limits. Evidence – proof of ownership and chain of custody of exhibits – contradictions in descriptions undermining recent possession. Appellate procedure – consolidation of grounds into single issue by first appellate court is permissible when appropriate.
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9 June 2022 |
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The applicant's convictions upheld on credible complainant and medical evidence; sentences substituted with mandatory life imprisonment.
Criminal law — Unnatural offence (carnal knowledge against the order of nature) — Complainant's direct testimony can suffice; medical examination corroboration; burden on accused to prove impotence (s.114 Evidence Act); mandatory life sentence where victim under 18 (s.154(2) Penal Code); appellate revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA).
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9 June 2022 |
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Identification and medical evidence upheld convictions; late alibi rejected and sentences ordered to run concurrently.
Criminal law — Visual identification — application of Waziri Amani guidelines; sufficiency of identification under close-range, well-lit, prolonged observation and immediate naming. Evidence — Child witness — requirement of section 127(2) Evidence Act inquiry into understanding of oath; failure renders such testimony valueless. Criminal procedure — Alibi — need for timely notice and putting alibi to prosecution witnesses; late alibi may be rejected as afterthought. Sexual offences — Rape — complainant's credible testimony corroborated by medical evidence (vaginal laceration) can prove offence beyond reasonable doubt. Sentencing — Concurrent versus consecutive sentences — appellate revisional powers under section 4(2) AJA to correct omission and order concurrent service when offences arise from same transaction.
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7 June 2022 |
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Concurrent findings on eyewitness and medical evidence upheld; appeal against grievous harm conviction dismissed.
Criminal law – grievous harm – proof beyond reasonable doubt – medical evidence and Exhibit PI – eyewitness identification and lighting – credibility of witnesses (friends) – corroboration not automatic – appellate deference to trial court credibility findings.
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6 June 2022 |
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Daylight recognition by familiar witnesses upheld; medical discrepancy immaterial; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Identification by recognition of a familiar person in daylight – Reliability and weight of identification evidence. Evidence – Credibility of family-member eyewitnesses – No exclusion merely because of relationship; credibility assessed on merits. Evidence – Minor discrepancies (medical report vs eyewitness) on injury location immaterial if core elements established. Criminal procedure – Unexplained delay in arrest not raised at trial cannot be relied upon on appeal to undermine prosecution case. Defence – Alibi raised belatedly and general denial weak; concurrent findings of lower courts entitled to respect.
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3 June 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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Appeal struck out as time-barred because certificates of delay were invalid; overriding-objective cannot cure jurisdictional defect.
Appellate procedure – Time limits – Rule 90(1) Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 – requirement to lodge appeal within 60 days of notice of appeal or obtain valid certificate of delay; Certificates of delay – validity – inconsistent/multiple certificates and absence of supporting correspondence render certificate invalid; Jurisdiction – timeliness as jurisdictional requirement – overriding objective cannot cure jurisdictional defect; Remedies – out-of-time appeal is to be struck out (no extension or leave to cure by fresh certificate).
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9 May 2022 |
| January 2022 |
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The respondent's failure to prove the appellant instigated prosecution defeats his malicious prosecution claim.
Malicious prosecution – essential elements – proceedings instituted or continued by defendant; burden of proof on claimant. Evidence – requirement of direct evidence that defendant instigated prosecution; weight of police and private security testimony. Civil liability arising from criminal process – claimant must prove each ingredient; failure of first ingredient defeats claim. Appellate review – trial court error in shifting burden of proof and making findings unsupported by evidence.
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26 January 2022 |
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Unsanctioned unsworn witness testimony warranted partial nullification and remittal; absence of arbitrator’s signature did not vitiate proceedings.
Labour law – CMA procedure – Arbitrator’s discretion under Rule 19(1) to determine procedure and authenticate record; requirement to administer oath or accept affirmation under Rule 19(2)(a) and Rule 25(1); unsworn testimony may render specific evidence and dependent parts of award null; appellate revision under s.4(2) AJA and partial remittal for rehearing.
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10 January 2022 |