Kenya Case Law

Director of Public Prosecution v Ndula & 8 others

Director of Public Prosecution v Ndula & 8 others [2025] KEHC 10609 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Revision E294 of 2024

Judge

SC Chirchir

The court found that while the prosecution's omission to disclose additional witness statements at the pre-trial stage was due to inadvertence and reflected indolence, this did not, in itself, justify denying the application to introduce further evidence. The court emphasized that disclosure is a continuous process during trial, as long as the prosecution's case is not closed, and that the defence must be given sufficient time to study and respond to new evidence. The court also noted that the respondents failed to provide evidence of a binding consent barring further applications for additio…

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• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Fair Trial Rights
• Procedural Justice
• Revision Jurisdiction

Republic v Obado & 2 others

Republic v Obado & 2 others [2025] KEHC 9104 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Case 46 of 2018

Judge

CW Githua

The court held that while the obligation to disclose evidence in advance is imposed solely on the prosecution under Article 50(2)(j) of the Constitution, the right to a fair trial under Article 50(1) applies to all parties, including the prosecution. Once the accused has testified and relied on documents in his defence, those documents are no longer privileged and must be made available to the prosecution to enable effective cross-examination. Denying the prosecution access to such documents would prejudice its ability to challenge the defence and undermine the principle of equality of arms.…

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• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Right To Fair Trial
• Cross Examination
• Burden Of Proof

Republic v Akiri & 3 others

Republic v Akiri & 3 others [2025] KEHC 8787 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Revision E005 of 2025

Judge

A Mabeya

The High Court allowed revision, holding that disclosure of the Registrar of Companies and Form CR12 was sufficient and the trial court had erred in barring the witness.

• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Right To Fair Trial
• Calling Of Witnesses
• Expert Evidence
• Criminal Procedure
• Tax Offences

Republic v Owino

Republic v Owino [2025] KEHC 6297 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Case E006 of 2024

Judge

A Mabeya

The High Court declined to bar a government analyst witness, but ordered a stand-down so the defence could review a late-disclosed report and prepare its case.

• Right To Fair Trial
• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Admissibility Of Evidence
• Fair-trial-rights
• Disclosure-of-evidence
• Criminal-procedure

Republic v Agwei & 9 others

Republic v Agwei & 9 others [2025] KEHC 5964 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Case E021 of 2023

Judge

A Mabeya

The court found that the prosecution is obligated under Article 50 of the Constitution and prior court orders to disclose all evidence it intends to rely on, including photographs. The fact that a new prosecutor is handling the case does not excuse non-disclosure by the State. Two of the four photographs were included in a report previously supplied to the defence, and the defence had not objected to their quality at the appropriate time. Therefore, the witness may identify only those two photographs. The other two photographs, which were not disclosed prior to trial, cannot be introduced, an…

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• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Right To Fair Trial
• Admissibility Of Documents

Republic v Kimuge

Republic v Kimuge [2025] KEHC 5744 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Case E010 of 2020

Judge

EM Muriithi

The court held that the right to a fair trial under Article 50(2) of the Constitution requires the prosecution to disclose all evidence in its possession to the accused, including material it does not intend to rely on. This obligation is rooted in the need to avoid trial by ambush and to ensure that the accused has adequate facilities to prepare a defence. The court rejected a restrictive interpretation of Article 50(2)(j) that would limit disclosure only to evidence the prosecution intends to use, emphasizing that the transformative nature of the 2010 Constitution and established case law r…

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• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Right To Fair Trial
• Pre Trial Procedure

Mose v Republic

Mose v Republic [2024] KEHC 14056 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Miscellaneous Application E016 of 2024

Judge

LN Mutende

The High Court dismissed an application to recuse the trial magistrate in a defilement case, finding no proven bias, conflict, or impropriety.

• Recusal Of Judicial Officer
• Right To Fair Trial
• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Judicial Bias
• Recusal-of-judicial-officer
• Right-to-fair-trial

Njuguna v Republic

Njuguna v Republic [2024] KEHC 11316 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Appeal E038 of 2022

Judge

DKN Magare

The court found that the applicant failed to meet the established legal threshold for adducing additional evidence on appeal. The statement sought to be introduced was not new evidence relevant to the applicant's case, but rather a witness statement from a related but separate criminal matter. The court held that a police statement is not, in itself, evidence, and there was no nexus between the statement and the issues in the applicant's trial. The application was also procedurally untenable, having previously been dismissed and refiled without justification for the delay. The court emphasize…

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• Adducing Additional Evidence
• Fair Trial Rights
• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Appellate Jurisdiction
• Criminal Appeal Procedure

Republic v Isabwa & 6 others

Republic v Isabwa & 6 others [2024] KEHC 10350 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Case 29 of 2015

Judge

K Kimondo

The High Court allowed the prosecution to recall PW34 to produce call data reports, holding objections on admissibility and disclosure were premature at that stage.

• Recall Of Witness
• Admissibility Of Evidence
• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Recall-of-witness
• Disclosure-of-evidence
• Admissibility-of-evidence

Republic v Mburu

Republic v Mburu [2024] KEHC 10662 (KLR)

Court

High Court

Case number

Criminal Case 35 of 2020

Judge

DO Chepkwony

High Court at Kiambu allowed the prosecution to file and rely on a late-served witness statement, holding that disclosure in criminal trials is a continuing duty.

• Disclosure Of Evidence
• Right To Fair Trial
• Admissibility Of Evidence
• Criminal-disclosure
• Fair-trial-rights
• Witness-statements