[2019] KEHC 6941 (KLR)
The High Court determined that it had no jurisdiction to review or interfere with the sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal, as the resentencing was conducted after the Supreme Court's decision in Francis Muruatetu & Others, which provided the applicable principles for resentencing. Since the Court of Appeal had...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2019] KEHC 6941 (KLR)
- Parties
- Petitioner: George Oduor Otieno; Respondent: Republic
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Siaya
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Petition 15 of 2019
- Procedural Posture
- Constitutional Petition / Ruling on Petition for Resentencing After Court of Appeal Decision
- Outcome
- petition dismissed
- Judges
- RE Aburili
- Legal Topics
- Resentencing, Jurisdiction of High Court, Death Sentence Review, Application of Supreme Court Precedent
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
George Oduor Otieno
Petitioner
Republic
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Constitutional Petition / Ruling on Petition for Resentencing After Court of Appeal Decision
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the High Court has jurisdiction to review a sentence already resentenced by the Court of Appeal after the Francis Muruatetu decision.
Ratio Decidendi
The High Court determined that it had no jurisdiction to review or interfere with the sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal, as the resentencing was conducted after the Supreme Court's decision in Francis Muruatetu & Others, which provided the applicable principles for resentencing. Since the Court of Appeal had already applied these principles and reduced the sentence from death to 25 years' imprisonment, the petition before the High Court was not well founded and was dismissed accordingly.
Court Disposition
petition dismissed
Orders
- The petition is dismissed.
- File closed.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
21 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT SIAYA
PETITION NO. 15 OF 2019
(CORAM: R. E. ABURILI - J.)
GEORGE ODUOR OTIENO...............PETITIONER
VERSUS
REPUBLIC...........................................RESPONDENT
RULING
1. The Petitioner was convicted and sentenced to suffer death by the trial court in Bondo PM Cr. Case No. 100/2008. He appealed to the High Court vide HCr. Appeal No. 112 and 113/2009 which appeal was dismissed. He appealed further to the Court of Appeal in CRA 21/2014 which appeal was allowed in part of Sentence only.
2. The Court of Appeal resented the Petitioner to serve 25 years in prison on 24/1/2019; thereby reducing the death sentence to prison term.
3. The Court of Appeal in resentencing the Petitioner must have taken into account the principles laid down in theFrancis Muruatetu & Others V SC Pet. Nos 15 and 16 2015.
4. That being the case, and as the resentencing of the appellant was done after the Francis Muruatetu decision, this court has no jurisdiction to review the decision of the Court of Appeal.
5. Accordingly, I find this petition not well founded. I proceed to dismiss it. File closed.
Orders accordingly.
Dated, Signed and Delivered in open court at Siaya this 3rd Day of June 2019.
R.E. ABURILI
JUDGE
In the Presence of:
Mr. Okachi, SPPC for State
Court Assistants: Brenda and Modestar
Petitioner (present in person)