[2020] KEHC 7256 (KLR)

[2020] KEHC 7256 (KLR)

The court exercised its revisionary jurisdiction under Sections 362 and 364 of the Criminal Procedure Code, taking into account the exceptional circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The court found that it was just and expedient to set aside the custodial sentence imposed on the applicant for the offence...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2020] KEHC 7256 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Cecilia Napetu; Respondent: Republic
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Nanyuki
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Case Number
Criminal Revision 36 of 2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal Revision / Order on Revision
Outcome
Sentence revised; applicant to be released unless otherwise lawfully held.
Legal Topics
Stealing by Servant, Sentencing Revision, Covid 19 Emergency, Penal Code Section 281
Source Language
en
Criminal Law Stealing by Servant Sentencing Revision Covid 19 Emergency Penal Code Section 281

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Parties

Cecilia Napetu

Applicant

Republic

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Revision / Order on Revision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the sentence imposed on the applicant for stealing by servant should be revised in light of the COVID-19 emergency.
  2. 2 Whether the court has the power to substitute the custodial sentence with time already served.

Ratio Decidendi

The court exercised its revisionary jurisdiction under Sections 362 and 364 of the Criminal Procedure Code, taking into account the exceptional circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The court found that it was just and expedient to set aside the custodial sentence imposed on the applicant for the offence of stealing by servant and substitute it with the period already served. This decision was guided by the need to decongest prisons and protect public health, in line with the constitutional mandate to administer justice without undue regard to procedural technicalities and to promote the ends of justice in extraordinary situations.

Court Disposition

Sentence revised; applicant to be released unless otherwise lawfully held.

Orders

  • The sentence of nine months imprisonment is set aside and substituted with time already served.
  • The applicant shall be set at liberty forthwith unless otherwise lawfully held.