[2018] KEHC 1387 (KLR)

[2018] KEHC 1387 (KLR)

The court found that the appellant's appeal was filed 22 days after the judgment and sentence, exceeding the statutory 14-day period prescribed by Section 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code. No application was made by the appellant or his advocate to seek enlargement of time or to have the appeal deemed as duly...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2018] KEHC 1387 (KLR)
Parties
Appellant: Michael Onyango Owala; Respondent: Republic
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Siaya
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Judgment Date
18 December 2018
Case Number
Criminal Appeal 69 of 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Judgment on Preliminary Objection to Competency of Appeal
Outcome
Appeal struck out as incompetent for being filed out of time without leave of court.
Judges
RE Aburili
Legal Topics
Criminal Appeals, Statutory Timelines, Jurisdiction, Filing Out of Time
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Civil Procedure Criminal Appeals Statutory Timelines Jurisdiction Filing Out of Time

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Michael Onyango Owala

Appellant

Republic

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Judgment on Preliminary Objection to Competency of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the appeal was filed within the statutory period prescribed by Section 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
  2. 2 Whether the High Court has jurisdiction to entertain an appeal filed out of time without leave of court.
  3. 3 Whether failure to seek enlargement of time for filing the appeal renders the appeal incompetent.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the appellant's appeal was filed 22 days after the judgment and sentence, exceeding the statutory 14-day period prescribed by Section 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code. No application was made by the appellant or his advocate to seek enlargement of time or to have the appeal deemed as duly filed within time. The court held that the failure to comply with the statutory timelines and the absence of an application for extension of time deprived the court of jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The defect was not merely procedural but went to the root of the court's jurisdiction. Consequently, the appeal was found to be fatally incompetent and was struck out without...

Court Disposition

Appeal struck out as incompetent for being filed out of time without leave of court.

Orders

  • The appeal is hereby struck out for incompetence.