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Kenya decisions
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Mureti & another v Republic [2025] KEHC 2851 (KLR)
The High Court at Meru allowed a criminal appeal, finding the trial a nullity for failure to provide legal representation, and ordered a retrial.
Matsanza v Republic [2024] KEHC 10555 (KLR)
The court found that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was not properly constituted at the time of the investigation and prosecution of the appellant, as there were no commissioners in office between May 2015 and January 2016. The court held that the core functions of investigating and recommending prosecution belong corporately to the EACC and must be authorised and sanctioned by the commissioners, not the secretariat alone. The absence of commissioners rendered the entire investigation and prosecution process a nullity. The conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court w…
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Murokoi v Republic [2023] KEHC 26064 (KLR)
The trial court failed to inform the appellant of his right to legal representation under Article 50(2)(g) of the Constitution at the time of plea taking. This omission is a fundamental breach of the right to a fair trial, which is non-derogable under Article 25 of the Constitution. The record did not show that the appellant was informed of this right, and the charges carried serious penalties. As established in Migori High Court Criminal Appeal No. 44 of 2019, such a failure renders the entire proceedings, conviction, and sentence a nullity. Consequently, the High Court quashed the convictio…
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Masheti v Republic [2023] KEHC 20425 (KLR)
The High Court held that the appellant’s fair trial rights were violated, quashed his conviction for defilement, set aside the sentence, and ordered a retrial.
Simiyu v Republic [2023] KEHC 3638 (KLR)
The High Court found that the trial court failed to comply with the mandatory requirements of Section 200(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code by not informing the Appellant of his right to recall witnesses when the trial was taken over by new magistrates. This omission was not excused by the Appellant's legal representation and constituted a violation of his right to a fair trial under Article 50 of the Constitution. The failure rendered the entire trial a nullity, and there was no need to consider the merits of the conviction or sentence. Given the protracted history of the case, the number of…
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Ojoo v Republic [2023] KEHC 255 (KLR)
The trial magistrate's failure to inform the appellant of his right to legal representation under Article 50(2)(g) of the Constitution constituted a fundamental breach of the right to a fair trial. This omission rendered the entire proceedings, conviction, and sentence a nullity, regardless of the evidence presented. The court further considered whether a retrial was appropriate, applying the principles from Fatehali Manji v Republic. Given the length of time the appellant had already spent in custody and the circumstances of the case, the court found that a retrial would not serve the intere…
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Paul Ochieng Omollo v Republic [2018] KEHC 8373 (KLR)
The High Court quashed a robbery with violence conviction because the trial magistrate failed to inform the accused of the right to recall witnesses under section 200(3) CPC.
Job Barongo Anunda v Republic [2016] KEHC 3634 (KLR)
The High Court held that failure to comply with section 200(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code rendered the trial a nullity, allowed the appeal, and ordered a retrial.
Charo Karisa Salimu v Republic [2016] KECA 365 (KLR)
The Court of Appeal found that the appellant's trial was a nullity because it commenced with the aid of assessors, as required by law at the time, but the assessors were discharged before the trial concluded, contrary to mandatory statutory provisions and established case law. The court held that the learned trial judge erred in assuming that the parties or the court could dispense with assessors after the law changed, when in fact the law required that trials already commenced with assessors must continue with their participation until conclusion. The court further found that the appellant's…
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David Kimani Njuguna v Republic [2015] KECA 2 (KLR)
The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge failed to comply with the mandatory requirements of Section 200(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code by not personally informing the appellant of his right to recall witnesses after taking over the case from a previous judge. The court emphasized that this duty is statutory and cannot be waived by counsel or fulfilled by mere consent between advocates. The failure to comply with this requirement is fatal and renders the entire trial a nullity, as it deprives the accused of a fundamental aspect of a fair trial—the opportunity to have the judge who det…
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