[2017] KEHC 7295 (KLR)

Parties

Procedural Posture

Criminal Revision / Ruling on Application for Revision of Discharge Order

Legal Issues

1. 1 Whether the trial magistrate erred in discharging the accused after a plea of guilty was entered.
2. 2 Whether a conviction should follow an unequivocal plea of guilty to a competent charge under the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act.
3. 3 Whether the trial court was correct in requiring further evidence after a plea of guilty.

Ratio Decidendi

The High Court found that the trial magistrate erred in discharging the accused after she had entered an unequivocal plea of guilty to a charge that disclosed an offence under the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act. The court held that once a plea of guilty is entered to a competent charge, the prosecution's burden of proof ceases, and the trial court must convict and sentence the accused accordingly. The trial magistrate's insistence on further evidence was misplaced, as the facts and the plea were sufficient. The accused's disability was only relevant as a mitigating factor at sentencing, not at the stage of conviction. The High Court exercised its revisionary jurisdiction to reverse the...

Court Disposition

Discharge order by the trial magistrate set aside; accused to be taken before a different competent court for fresh plea and proceedings.

Orders

• The decision to discharge the accused made by the learned magistrate on 29/12/2016 is reversed.
• The accused person shall be taken before a different court with competent jurisdiction for purposes of re-taking the plea afresh and proceeding thereafter as provided by law.