[2023] KEHC 1262 (KLR)

[2023] KEHC 1262 (KLR)

The court held that, pursuant to Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the period the applicant spent in custody prior to sentencing must be taken into account when computing the term of imprisonment. The applicant was in custody from August 28, 2018 until his sentencing on April 30, 2020, a period of one...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2023] KEHC 1262 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Bernard Kiptanui Ruto; Respondent: Republic
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Kericho
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Case Number
Miscellaneous Criminal Application E035 of 2022
Procedural Posture
Miscellaneous Criminal Application / Ruling on Application for Inclusion of Pre Sentence Custody Period
Outcome
Application allowed.
Judges
AN Ongeri
Legal Topics
Sentencing, Pre Sentence Custody, Manslaughter, Computation of Sentence
Source Language
en
Criminal Law Sentencing Pre Sentence Custody Manslaughter Computation of Sentence

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Parties

Bernard Kiptanui Ruto

Applicant

Republic

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Miscellaneous Criminal Application / Ruling on Application for Inclusion of Pre Sentence Custody Period

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the period the applicant spent in custody prior to sentencing should be included in the computation of his sentence.
  2. 2 Whether the applicant is entitled to have his sentence run from the date of first arraignment.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that, pursuant to Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the period the applicant spent in custody prior to sentencing must be taken into account when computing the term of imprisonment. The applicant was in custody from August 28, 2018 until his sentencing on April 30, 2020, a period of one year and eight months. The court therefore ordered that the applicant's sentence of 8 years' imprisonment should be deemed to have commenced from August 28, 2018, the date of his first arraignment, rather than from the date of sentencing. This ensures compliance with statutory requirements and prevents the applicant from serving a sentence longer than that prescribed by law.

Court Disposition

Application allowed.

Orders

  • The period the applicant spent in custody from August 28, 2018 to April 30, 2020 shall be included in the computation of his sentence.
  • The applicant's sentence of 8 years' imprisonment shall be deemed to have commenced on August 28, 2018.