|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| July 1991 |
|
|
|
31 July 1991 |
|
Application for extension of time to appeal dismissed for unjustified delay, lack of point of law and procedural defects.
Criminal procedure – application for extension of time to appeal – delay attributed to prosecutor – imputing conduct to DPP – distinction between point of law and point of fact – requirement of filing notice of appeal – dismissal for unjustified delay.
|
31 July 1991 |
|
Second appeal dismissed; appellate court refused to disturb concurrent factual findings upholding respondent’s land ownership.
Civil procedure – second appeal – appeal court’s reluctance to disturb concurrent findings of fact of subordinate courts; standard of review on facts. Land law – proof of ownership by purchase – evidence of long uninterrupted occupation and seller’s capacity to sell. Evidence – timing of challenge to title (raised after death of relevant persons) as factor in assessing credibility and sufficiency of challenge.
|
31 July 1991 |
|
Appellate court quashes defective trial proceedings and directs the magistrate to file and execute the hotel-levy certificate as a civil cause.
Hotel Levy Act 23/1972 – recovery by certificate – certificate executable in same manner as civil suit – procedural irregularity in district/trial court renders proceedings null – quashing and remittal to R.M. court to file as Miscellaneous Civil Cause and proceed with execution.
|
31 July 1991 |
|
Whether evidence established that land was communal clan land requiring clan permission for sale; court found insufficient evidence and allowed appeal.
Property — customary land — sale by individual family member — evidentiary burden to show communal/clan ownership or restriction — appellate review where lower court ordered refund and eviction.
|
31 July 1991 |
|
|
30 July 1991 |
|
Applicant's passport impoundment quashed for denial of opportunity to be heard; certiorari and prohibition granted.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Impoundment of passport – Failure to afford opportunity to be heard – Breach of natural justice – Relief by certiorari and prohibition.
|
30 July 1991 |
|
|
30 July 1991 |
|
|
30 July 1991 |
|
|
30 July 1991 |
|
|
29 July 1991 |
|
Conviction for house‑breaking and theft upheld; sentencing court misstated statutory minimum, which is five years.
Criminal law – house‑breaking and stealing – proof by search and recovery of stolen property – credibility of search witnesses. Sentencing – statutory minimum sentences – Minimum Sentences Act s.5(d) – value threshold of five thousand shillings makes five years the prescribed minimum.
|
29 July 1991 |
|
Ex parte judgment granted on a stamped written interest‑free loan after defendant defaulted and failed to appear.
Civil procedure – Ex parte judgment on default; Contract – written loan agreement as evidence; Evidence – original stamped agreement admitted (Exhibit P1); Interest – waiver of interest upheld; Costs – awarded to successful plaintiff.
|
29 July 1991 |
|
|
26 July 1991 |
|
Convictions based on hearsay from uncalled child witnesses and insufficient evidence were quashed and sentences set aside.
Criminal law – theft and receiving stolen property – convictions based on hearsay from uncalled child witnesses are unsafe. Evidence Act s.127(2) – procedure for recording evidence of a child of tender years – necessity to bring and record such evidence in court. Criminal appeal – insufficiency and confusion in evidence – miscarriage of justice – quashing convictions and setting aside sentences.
|
25 July 1991 |
|
Appeals allowed for three appellants where evidence failed to prove animals were injured; first appellant’s appeal struck off as incompetent.
Criminal law – offence of injuring an animal (s.325 Penal Code) – requirement to prove animal was hurt, diseased, disordered or wounded – mere beating insufficient; Evidence – complainant’s own statements showing complaint was about trespass/claim to land, not injury to animals; Appeal competency – appeal by appellant already acquitted by District Court struck off.
|
25 July 1991 |
|
Application for leave filed after 14‑day limit is time‑barred; equitable interest alone did not justify a temporary injunction.
Civil procedure — Appeals — Leave to appeal — Rule 43(a) Court of Appeal Rules — 14‑day limit runs from date decision delivered; notice of intention to appeal or receipt of copy does not replace timely application for leave. Civil procedure — Interim remedies — Temporary injunction (Order 37 R.1–2 CPC) — Applicant must show sufficient grounds, risk of irreparable harm or likelihood of respondent dealing with the property to justify restraint. Equitable interest/loan security — Claim of equitable interest in house does not, without evidence of threatened disposition, automatically warrant injunctive relief.
|
25 July 1991 |
|
|
24 July 1991 |
|
Appellate court increased sentence and compensation for grievous harm where initial sentence was manifestly inadequate.
Criminal law – grievous harm – sentencing – manifestly inadequate sentence – appellate interference – compensation – seriousness of injury (axe embedded, deep brain tissue wound) – deterrence.
|
24 July 1991 |
|
|
24 July 1991 |
|
Appeal allowed where respondent failed to prove legal conveyance or sufficient evidence of title to disputed land.
Land law – proof of title – absence of conveyance – oral declarations and possession – insufficiency of evidence to establish ownership.
|
24 July 1991 |
|
|
24 July 1991 |
|
Prisoner’s transfer and non-receipt of judgment constituted good cause; leave to appeal out of time granted.
Criminal procedure – extension of time – leave to appeal out of time – prisoner’s transfer and non-receipt of judgment as good cause – absence of State opposition.
|
23 July 1991 |
|
Circumstantial and forensic evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused jointly poisoned the infant; both convicted and sentenced to death.
Criminal law – murder by poisoning – infant death due to diazinon Circumstantial evidence – sufficiency and irresistible inference of guilt Forensic evidence – post‑mortem and chemical analysis establishing cause of death Defences rejected – suicide, accidental ingestion, natural convulsions, third‑party interference Sentence – conviction and capital punishment
|
23 July 1991 |
|
Accused acquitted where contradictory eyewitness identification created reasonable doubt despite postmortem proof of homicide.
Criminal law — Identification evidence — Contradictory eyewitness descriptions — Reasonable doubt — Postmortem establishes homicide but does not substitute for reliable identification — Acquittal for doubtful identification.
|
23 July 1991 |
|
|
23 July 1991 |
|
Appeal dismissed where respondent proved long occupation and a village reconciliation document corroborated right to the disputed plot.
Land dispute – possession/ownership – long occupation (since 1974) and corroborating village/CCM reconciliation document – appraisal of witness credibility – appellate review – appeal dismissed for lack of merit.
|
23 July 1991 |
|
|
22 July 1991 |
|
The appellants' convictions for malicious damage, substituted for robbery, were quashed for insufficient and uncorroborated evidence.
Criminal law – alternative verdicts (s.300 CPA) – substitution of malicious damage for robbery – sufficiency of evidence; evidential requirements for conviction – tendering damaged property and proving value; failure to call material eyewitnesses; inadmissibility/insufficiency of alleged admissions not placed in evidence; compensation order must be supported by evidence.
|
21 July 1991 |
|
|
19 July 1991 |
|
|
19 July 1991 |
|
|
19 July 1991 |
|
Appellant’s alibi and bias claims insufficient; identification and medical evidence upheld, conviction and three-year sentence affirmed.
Criminal law – Assault occasioning actual bodily harm – Identification of accused by familiar witnesses – Alibi and framing allegations – Trial magistrate bias pleaded on appeal – Sentence severity.
|
19 July 1991 |
|
Appellants’ convictions for cattle theft upheld where reliable eyewitness identification and recovery of animals corroborated the prosecution case.
Criminal law – Theft of livestock – Eyewitness identification – Reliability factors (lighting, proximity, distinctive markings) – Corroboration by recovery and identification of stolen property – Appeal against conviction; sufficiency of evidence.
|
19 July 1991 |
|
|
19 July 1991 |
|
Appellant’s appeal dismissed: respondent proved village allocation and continuous occupation; no evidence justified compensation to appellant.
Land dispute – village allocation – proof of allocation and continuous occupation since 1976 – encroachment in 1989 – absence of evidence of improvements – compensation order set aside.
|
19 July 1991 |
|
Repudiated confessions and unreliable identifications failed to corroborate murder charge; accused acquitted and released.
Criminal law – Evidence – Repudiated extra‑judicial confession – Requirement for caution and corroboration; Identification parade – reliability where witnesses had prior acquaintance and identification related to another incident; Alibi – notice requirements (s.94 CPA) – limited weight; Standard of proof – beyond reasonable doubt.
|
19 July 1991 |
|
Conviction quashed for unsafe circumstantial evidence and unlawful excessive sentence; appellant ordered released.
Criminal law – Theft – circumstantial evidence and reasonable doubt; admissibility/weight of guest register and receipt; sentencing powers of trial magistrate – unlawful excess of statutory maximum; undue reliance on accused’s previous convictions.
|
19 July 1991 |
|
Conviction based on faint lamp identification and unproven identification of recovered shirt was quashed for unsafe evidence.
Criminal law – Evidence – Identification at night by lamp light – Requirements for reliable eyewitness identification; Recovered property – Need for proof linking seized items to alleged theft; Appeal – Quashing conviction where identification evidence is unsafe.
|
18 July 1991 |
|
|
18 July 1991 |
|
|
17 July 1991 |
|
Appeal by the prosecution against an acquittal for alleged bribery of a public officer; appellate outcome indeterminable from the record provided.
Criminal law – Corruption – Whether a public officer corruptly obtained money to forbear prosecution – sufficiency and credibility of complainant’s evidence; Appeals – Review of acquittal by prosecution – standards for overturning an acquittal on appeal; Evidence – credibility and weight of complainant and arrest evidence.
|
17 July 1991 |
|
Attachment of cattle lawfully carried out; appellant’s delayed objection lacked merit and appeal dismissed with costs.
Execution of decree – attachment of goods – ownership and voluntary delivery of seized cattle – timeliness of objection proceedings – appeal dismissed for lack of merit.
|
17 July 1991 |
|
The respondent's claim was time‑barred by adverse possession after 12+ years despite no proven sale.
Property law — Prescription/Adverse possession — Continuous adverse occupation and improvement for over 12 years extinguishes prior owner's right under customary limitation rules; lack of evidence of sale — proof required; absence from residence does not excuse delay in asserting title.
|
17 July 1991 |
|
The appellant's conviction rested on uncorroborated testimony of interested witnesses, requiring caution and corroboration under established principles.
Criminal law – Storebreaking and stealing – Conviction based mainly on testimony of driver and attendant – Interested witnesses/co-suspects – Need for cautionary direction and corroboration (Kenneth Frank Iraf v R.) – Reliability of uncorroborated accomplice/crown witness evidence; Sentencing – Minimum Sentences Act mentioned.
|
16 July 1991 |
|
|
16 July 1991 |
|
Appeal dismissed: trial magistrate’s credibility findings and corroborated evidence established respondent’s loan claim.
Civil procedure – loan/contract – credibility findings by trial magistrate; corroboration by independent witness; appellate review limited where findings of fact and credibility are unimpeached.
|
16 July 1991 |
|
Positive in-room identification and possession of recently stolen property sustained burglary and theft convictions; appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Identification evidence – Reliability of in-room identification where there was light and sufficient opportunity to observe – Possession of recently stolen property – Lack of reasonable explanation as evidence of guilt.
|
16 July 1991 |
|
A 12‑year statutory limitation bars land‑recovery claims unless sufficient, corroborated cause is shown to extend time.
Limitation of actions – Customary Law (Limitation of Proceedings) Rules GN 311/64 – Rule 2 and item 6 of schedule – 12‑year bar to actions for recovery of possession of land. Extension of time – plaintiff must show sufficient cause to enable a court to admit a claim beyond the 12‑year limitation period. Evidence – bare allegations of illness without medical corroboration are insufficient to rebut statutory limitation.
|
16 July 1991 |
|
|
16 July 1991 |