[1998] KEHC 157 (KLR)
The court found that the appellant was properly informed of the charges and the consequences of pleading guilty, as the proceedings were conducted in his native language, Luhya, and the record clearly indicated he was warned that the penalty was death. The appellant maintained his guilty plea after being warned and...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [1998] KEHC 157 (KLR)
- Parties
- Appellant: Elijah Aywa Zedekiah; Respondent: Republic
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Law Courts)
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- ? 173 of 1998
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal Appeal / Judgment
- Outcome
- appeal dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Plea of Guilty, Robbery With Violence, Language of Court, Sentencing, Criminal Procedure, Appeals
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Elijah Aywa Zedekiah
Appellant
Republic
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Judgment
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the appellant understood the language of the court during plea taking.
- 2 Whether the appellant was warned of the consequences of pleading guilty to a capital offence.
- 3 Whether the trial magistrate complied with the legal requirements for recording a guilty plea.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the appellant was properly informed of the charges and the consequences of pleading guilty, as the proceedings were conducted in his native language, Luhya, and the record clearly indicated he was warned that the penalty was death. The appellant maintained his guilty plea after being warned and admitted the facts as presented by the prosecution. The trial magistrate complied with the requirements of section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code, ensuring the plea was unequivocal. There was no evidence of misunderstanding, coercion, or procedural irregularity. The conviction was therefore lawful, and the mandatory sentence of death was correctly imposed under section...
Court Disposition
appeal dismissed
Orders
- The appeal is dismissed.
- The conviction and sentence of death are upheld.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
31 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI
APPELLATE SIDE
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 173 OF 1998
FROM ORIGINAL CONVICTION AND IN CRIMINAL CASE
NO....OF..........SENTENCE OF THE SRM’S MAGISTRATE’S COURT
AT MASENO
ELIJAH AYWA ZEDEKIAH.............................................APPELLANT
VERSUS
REPUBLIC .....................................................................RESPONDENT
J U D G M E N T
The appellant Elijah Aywa Zedekiah was originally charged jointly with another with three counts of Robbery with violence c/s 296(2) of the Penal Code.
The record before us shows that the appellant pleaded guilty to all the three counts for which he was convicted and sentenced to death. He has now appealed against both the conviction and sentence.
The thrust of the appellants appeal as contained in his petition of appeal is that he was not conversant with the court language, that he was not warned of the consequences of pleading guilty to the said charges and that the learned trial magistrate did not examine all the circumstances surrounding the plea before conviction.
As the first appellate court, it is our duty to examine the entire record before us and come to independent conclusions. This we have done.
The record shows that when the appellant first appeared in court on 3rd December, 1997, the charge was read and explained to him in Luhya language in which he also replied” It is true that I robbed the complainant as alleged and assaulted him.” He repeated this in all the other two counts. The prosecutor then is said to have told the learned trial magistrate that he would give the facts in respect of the appellant on the following day.
On 4th December, 1997 the Court is on record as stating.
“Accused is reminded of the charges in Luhya language and warned that the penalty is death and being asked whether he admits or denies the charge replies as follows:-
ACCD.
I still maintain my plea of guilty to the three charges.”
The prosecutor then gave a statement of facts to which the appellant admitted by saying.
“I admit all the facts to be true.”
The court then found the appellant guilty on his own plea and convicted him on all the three counts. The appellant was given an opportunity to mitigate but said he had nothing to say. The learned trial magistrate handed down the only sentence prescribed by law, that is death.
The appellant admitted before us that he is a Luhya. He must be as the record also confirms the charges were put to him in the Luhya language. We find no reason why the learned trial magistrate could have stated so in his record if the appellant did not understand the language. We therefore do not believe the appellants contention that he did not understand the language used.
The learned trial magistrate warned the appellant of the consequences of pleading guilty to the said charges. The words on the record are clear and unambigous the penalty is death. The warning was in Luhya language but still the appellant maintained his plea of guilty.
The prosecutor gave a concise and detailed account of all the three counts which the appellant also admitted. He did not complain of any police brutality while in custody or that he was mentally unstable. In our judgment he must have understood the facts and admitted the truth thereof.
The learned trial magistrate complied strictly with the provisions of section 207(1) and (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code. On our part, we find that the appellant pleaded guilty to the charges, the said plea was unequivocal and the conviction was therefore well founded.
There is only one mandatory sentence provided under the law upon conviction under section 296(2) of the Penal Code and that is death. We have no jurisdiction to interfere with the same. Accordingly this appeal is dismissed. Order accordingly.
Dated at Nairobi this 4th day of December, 1998.
A. MBOGHOLI MSAGHA M.A. ANG’AWA
JUDGE JUDGE