[2012] KEHC 5279 (KLR)

[2012] KEHC 5279 (KLR)

The court found that, despite the absence of a postmortem report, the evidence of the four prosecution witnesses was sufficient to establish a prima facie case against the accused. The standard at this stage does not require proof beyond reasonable doubt but only that there is a case for the accused to answer. The court was satisfied that the accused should be put on his defence to respond to the allegations of murder. The application for acquittal under section 306(1) was therefore rejected, and the accused was called upon to indicate how he wished to conduct his defence under section 306(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Citation
[2012] KEHC 5279 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Republic; Defendant: Josia Omulo Anyango
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Kisii
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Judgment Date
26 January 2012
Case Number
Criminal Case 50 of 2008
Procedural Posture
Criminal Case / Ruling on Case to Answer at Close of Prosecution Case
Outcome
Accused found to have a case to answer; application for acquittal dismissed.
Legal Topics
Murder Trial, Prima Facie Case, Burden of Proof, Criminal Procedure
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Murder Trial Prima Facie Case Burden of Proof Criminal Procedure

Case Brief

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Parties

Republic

Applicant

Josia Omulo Anyango

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Case / Ruling on Case to Answer at Close of Prosecution Case

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the prosecution has established a prima facie case against the accused to warrant putting him on his defence.
  2. 2 Whether the absence of a postmortem report is fatal to the prosecution's case at this stage.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that, despite the absence of a postmortem report, the evidence of the four prosecution witnesses was sufficient to establish a prima facie case against the accused. The standard at this stage does not require proof beyond reasonable doubt but only that there is a case for the accused to answer. The court was satisfied that the accused should be put on his defence to respond to the allegations of murder. The application for acquittal under section 306(1) was therefore rejected, and the accused was called upon to indicate how he wished to conduct his defence under section 306(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Court Disposition

Accused found to have a case to answer; application for acquittal dismissed.

Orders

  • The accused shall be put on his defence and indicate his preferred mode of defence as provided under section 306(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.