[2025] KEHC 9379 (KLR)

[2025] KEHC 9379 (KLR)

The court found that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against any of the accused persons. There was no evidence at all linking the 2nd and 3rd accused to the offence, as confirmed by the investigating officer and the absence of any witness statements mentioning them. As for the 1st accused, the...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2025] KEHC 9379 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Republic; Defendant: Brian Kyalo Peter; Defendant: Paul Muvea Ndungai
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Makueni
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Judgment Date
7 March 2025
Case Number
Criminal Case E004 of 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Case / Ruling on No Case to Answer Under Section 306 of the Criminal Procedure Code
Outcome
acquittal
Judges
TM Matheka
Legal Topics
Murder, Prima Facie Case, Vulnerable Witnesses, Evidence Evaluation, Acquittal, Disability Rights
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Murder Prima Facie Case Vulnerable Witnesses Evidence Evaluation Acquittal Disability Rights

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Parties

Republic

Applicant

Brian Kyalo Peter

Defendant

Paul Muvea Ndungai

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Case / Ruling on No Case to Answer Under Section 306 of the Criminal Procedure Code

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the prosecution established a prima facie case against the accused persons to warrant putting them on their defence.
  2. 2 Whether the evidence of the sole alleged eyewitness, a vulnerable witness with communication disabilities, was reliable and admissible to sustain the charge of murder.
  3. 3 Whether the prosecution adduced any evidence linking the 2nd and 3rd accused persons to the offence.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against any of the accused persons. There was no evidence at all linking the 2nd and 3rd accused to the offence, as confirmed by the investigating officer and the absence of any witness statements mentioning them. As for the 1st accused, the prosecution relied solely on the evidence of PW2, a vulnerable witness with significant communication disabilities. The court determined that the process of obtaining PW2's evidence—through her mother and an intermediary, without any standard sign language or direct communication—rendered the evidence unreliable and incapable of sustaining a conviction without corroboration....

Court Disposition

acquittal

Orders

  • Each accused person is acquitted under section 306(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
  • Right of appeal within 30 days.