Kenya Case Law

Owino v Republic

Owino v Republic (Criminal Appeal E232 of 2023) [2026] KEHC 6939 (KLR) (Crim) (11 May 2026) (Ruling)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Appeal E232 of 2023

Judge

["MW Muigai"]

The appellant was twice afforded judicial redress through recusal, but she did not establish concrete prejudice or prove that the existing record was inaccurate or tainted in a manner that made it unusable. Section 200 CPC required that she be informed of the right to recall witnesses, which was done, but it did not entitle her to an automatic de novo trial. Given the availability of witnesses, the age of the case, and the need to balance the rights of the accused with those of the complainant, the succeeding magistrate properly declined to restart the trial afresh.

Source excerpt

• Section 200 criminal procedure code
• De novo hearing
• Recusal and judicial bias
• Fair trial rights
• Witness recall
• Victim participation

Julius Kaunyangi v Republic

Court

Court of Appeal

Case number

Criminal Appeal E057 of 2021

Judge

["W Karanja", "A Ali-Aroni", "PM Gachoka"]

The Court of Appeal upheld Julius Kaunyangi’s murder conviction and 25-year sentence, finding the recognition evidence reliable and the alleged errors immaterial.

• Murder
• Malice aforethought
• Identification/recognition evidence
• Witness recall
• Contradictions and inconsistencies
• Right to fair trial