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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2023 |
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Trial lacked jurisdiction because consent under EOCCA s.26(1) was invalid; convictions quashed and appellants released.
Criminal procedure – Economic offences – Consent under EOCCA s.26(1) – Power to consent is non‑delegable and vests in the DPP personally – Consent by subordinate officer invalid. Jurisdiction – Certificate of transfer premised on invalid consent is nugatory – proceedings are a nullity. Evidence – Improper tendering of exhibits and destruction of trophies may undermine prospect of fair retrial.
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10 November 2023 |
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Applicants failed to show good cause for extension of time to apply for leave; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules — requirement of "good cause" and need to account for each day of delay. Rule 45A(1)(b) — second-bite application for extension to be filed within 14 days of High Court refusal. Delay caused by pursuing prior applications or alleged negligence of counsel does not, without adequate explanation, establish good cause.
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10 November 2023 |
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A plea admitting a different offence is not admission of the charged offence; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – Plea-taking – Validity of plea; Plea admitting different offence does not constitute admission of charged offence; Record authenticity – handwritten original preferred over inconsistent typed record; Distinction between rape and unnatural offence; Remedy – quash conviction and order retrial.
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10 November 2023 |
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Single‑witness night identification found unreliable; conviction quashed and appellant released.
Criminal law – Visual identification – Single witness identification at night – utmost caution and strict scrutiny of credibility; inconsistencies and incoherence in witness testimony undermine reliability. Criminal procedure – Alibi defence and duty to disprove; s.291(3) CPA right to call/cross‑examine medical expert not decided after acquittal.
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10 November 2023 |
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Invalid consent to prosecute economic offences (issued by wrong officer) vitiates jurisdiction and quashes the conviction.
Criminal procedure – EOCCA consent – section 26(1) EOCCA – consent to prosecute economic offences must be issued by the DPP personally unless lawfully delegated under section 26(2). Jurisdiction – invalid consent vitiates trial court jurisdiction and subsequent appeals. Appellate jurisdiction – section 4(2) AJA – power to nullify proceedings, quash conviction and set aside sentence. Retrial – discretionary; not ordered where prosecution case has material flaws and retrial would be against interests of justice.
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9 November 2023 |
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Murder conviction quashed and substituted with manslaughter where prosecution failed to prove malice aforethought.
Criminal law – murder v. manslaughter – malice aforethought; self‑defence; burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt; substitution of conviction under s.300(2) CPA where only accused witnessed critical events.
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9 November 2023 |
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Invalid consent to prosecute under the EOCCA vitiated jurisdiction, nullified convictions, and warranted a retrial.
Criminal procedure – Economic and Organised Crime Control Act (EOCCA) – consent to prosecute – section 26(1) vests consent power in the Director of Public Prosecutions – State Attorney in charge cannot issue consent under s.26(1). Jurisdiction – defective consent renders certificate of transfer and trial proceedings nullity. Appeals – appellate proceedings arising from nullity are likewise void. Remedy – convictions quashed, sentences set aside, retrial ordered.
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9 November 2023 |
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Conviction quashed where date variance, improperly recorded child evidence and unread exhibits left no credible proof.
Criminal law – rape – variance between charged date and evidence; child witness evidence – non-compliance with s.127(2) Evidence Act; documentary exhibits admitted but not read to accused – expungement; failure to prove charge beyond reasonable doubt.
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9 November 2023 |
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Failure by the applicant to serve the notice of motion within 14 days under rule 55(1) renders application incompetent.
Civil Procedure – Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 – Rule 55(1) – mandatory service of notice of motion, affidavit and supporting documents within 14 days of filing. Non-compliance with rule 55(1) – renders application incompetent – struck out. Preliminary objection – procedure and effect. Labour matters – no order as to costs.
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9 November 2023 |
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Convictions for unlawful entry and trophy possession quashed for statutory and mandatory-procedure defects.
National Parks Act — amendment removed the offence of unlawful entry; charging under deleted provision is irregular. Police General Orders No. 229 para.25 — mandatory procedure for disposal of perishable exhibits; accused must be given opportunity to be present and heard. Evidence — Inventory Form for perishable trophy inadmissible where mandatory disposal procedure not followed; burden to prove possession rests on prosecution.
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9 November 2023 |
| June 2023 |
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Defective EOCCA consent and certificate vitiate trial jurisdiction; retrial denied where prosecution evidence is materially flawed.
EOCCA — consent under s.26(1) non-delegable; defective consent/certificate omitting statutory provisions vitiates subordinate court jurisdiction; cautioned statements recorded out of time and defective inventories undermine prosecution case; retrial inappropriate where prosecution has significant evidential gaps (Fatehali Manji principle).
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14 June 2023 |
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Trial court wrongly dismissed the applicant's suit under inapplicable provisions instead of striking out absent witness statements.
Civil procedure — non‑appearance at hearing — dismissal under Order VIII r.21(a) inappropriate after pre‑trial; Order X r.1 inapplicable — where witness who filed statement fails to appear court should strike out statement under Order XVIII r.5(5); revision permissible in exceptional circumstances to correct jurisdictional illegality.
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13 June 2023 |
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Conviction for statutory rape quashed because identification of the accused by the victim was insufficient.
Criminal law – Statutory rape – elements: age, penetration, identity of perpetrator – requirement that identification be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Identification – recognition evidence must be clear, unique and corroborated; absence of identification parade/investigation weakens prosecution case. Evidence – tender-age witness may be sworn if court is satisfied she understands the oath; victim’s evidence must be self-sufficient and credible. Pleadings – charge properly framed under section 135(a) CPA.
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13 June 2023 |
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Failure to explain vital legal points to assessors rendered the trial a nullity; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal procedure — Summing up to assessors — Duty to explain vital points of law (dying declaration, visual identification, alibi) — Inadequate summing up vitiates trial — Assessors' opinions unreliable — Dying declaration and night identification requirements — Retrial vs quashing under AJA s.4(2).
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12 June 2023 |
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Court affirms title conclusive absent rebuttal; road authority must prove inclusion in road reserve; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – Certificate of title – Conclusive evidence of ownership under the Land Registration Act unless lawfully impeached. Highways Act / road reserve – Where inclusion in road reserve is disputed, the road authority (custodian) bears special burden of proof under s.115 Evidence Act. Burden of proof – Claimant bears burden only where inclusion in reserve is conceded; otherwise custodian must prove encroachment. Evidence – Need for locus inspection/measurement to prove encroachment into road reserve; uncorroborated oral evidence and internal contradictions are insufficient.
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12 June 2023 |
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Amendment and joinder without court leave and failure to hold mandatory pretrial conference rendered the trial proceedings null and were quashed.
Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings (Order VI r.17 CPC) requires leave; Joinder/addition of parties (Order I r.10 CPC) requires court order; Defendant may join non-party only by third party procedure (Order I r.14) or counterclaim (Order VIII r.10); Mandatory final pretrial conference (Order VIII r.40(1)) – failure renders proceedings vitiated; Revisionary powers under s.4(2) AJA to quash and remit.
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9 June 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed: single-witness recognition at night was reliable and sufficient to uphold conviction.
Criminal law — Identification evidence — Recognition at night; source and intensity of light (torches and reflection); proximity and duration of observation; witness familiarity and immediate naming; credibility of single witness; Waziri Amani principles applied.
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9 June 2023 |
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Defective DPP consent and transfer certificate (omitting statutory provisions and improperly signed) rendered economic-offence proceedings a nullity; appellant released.
Criminal procedure – Economic offences – requirement of DPP’s personal consent under s.26 EOCCA – certificate conferring jurisdiction under s.12 EOCCA – omission of statutory provisions in consent/certificate – defective consent/certificate renders proceedings a nullity – retrial vs release.
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5 June 2023 |
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Inadequate summing up and unexplained departure from assessors' opinions nullified the appellant's conviction; case remitted.
Criminal procedure – Trial with assessors – Adequacy of summing up – Need to explain elements of offence (malice aforethought) and defence of self-defence – Departure from assessors' opinions requires reasons – Inadequate summing up renders trial a nullity – Remedy: remittal for fresh summing up and judgment or retrial if assessors unavailable; s.266(4) CPA curability of assessor disqualification.
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2 June 2023 |
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CMA award and High Court revision quashed for failure to administer oaths and denying several complainants a hearing.
Labour law – retrenchment disputes – procedure before CMA – mandate of representation under rule 5(2) – right to be heard (Article 13(6)(a)) – administration of oaths under rules 19(2) and 25(1) of G.N. No. 67 of 2007 – proceedings and award nullity – revisional power under s.4(2) AJA – remittal for rehearing.
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1 June 2023 |