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Court of AppealDismissedCivil Appeal 186 of 1995

GICHUHI KIMIRA v SAMUEL NGUNU KIMOTHO & another [1998] KECA 32 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
10 December 1998
184 words in judgment
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·~1 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that a single judge's settlement of an order implementing its judgment stands unless a party proves actual error.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a brief ruling of a three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal at Nairobi (Omolo, Tunoi and Owuro, JJA) delivered on 10th December 1998 in Civil Appeal 186 of 1995, Gichuhi Kimira v Samuel Ngunu Kimotho & Simon Mugweru Wathirwa. The matter came before the full Court as a reference by the applicant, through counsel Mr. Muthoga, challenging the manner in which a learned single judge of the Court of Appeal (Shah, J.A.) had settled the terms of the order to give effect to the Court's judgment delivered on 28th April 1998. The underlying litigation originated in H.C.C.C. No. 880 of 1977, consolidated with H.C.C.C. No. 908 of 1977, before Akiwumi, J, whose judgment and decree of 6th October 1989 had earlier been the subject of appeal. The full Court, with respect to counsel's submissions, held that it could not see how the single judge had erred in settling the terms of the order. It confirmed the ruling of Shah, J.A., approved the order as settled by him, and dismissed the reference with costs. The ruling is unanimous and contains no separate opinions, no cited authorities, and no statutory provisions. Its binding significance lies in the confirmation that a full Court will not disturb a single judge's settlement of an order implementing that Court's judgment absent demonstrated error.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether the learned single judge erred in settling the terms of the order pursuant to the judgment of the Court delivered on 28th April, 1998

Key legal issues

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01

Settlement of the terms of an order pursuant to a judgment of the Court of Appeal

Holding

The single judge's settlement of the order was correct and is confirmed and approved.

Reasoning

The full Court, hearing the reference by the applicant, found no error in the manner in which the learned single judge (Shah, J.A.) settled the terms of the order implementing the Court's judgment of 28th April, 1998. It expressed agreement with that ruling, confirmed it, approved the order as settled, and dismissed the reference with costs.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • A full Court will not interfere with a single judge's settlement of the terms of an order pursuant to that Court's judgment absent demonstrated error.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The ruling of Shah, J.A. is confirmed
  2. 2.The order as settled by the single judge is approved
  3. 3.The reference is dismissed with costs

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

majority
majority
majority
On appeal from
Court of Appeal of Kenya (single judge, ruling of Shah, J.A.)
Jurisdiction invoked
Reference to the full Court under the Court of Appeal procedure regarding settlement of the terms of an order pursuant to the Court's judgment delivered on 28th April, 1998

Relief refused

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The applicant's reference challenging the settled terms of the order

The Court could see no error in the single judge's settlement of the order

p. 1

Costs

The reference is dismissed with costs (costs awarded against the applicant).

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

we cannot see how the learned single judge of this court erred in settling the terms of the order pursuant to the judgment of this court delivered on 28th April, 1998
p. 1Absence of error in settling terms of order
We confirm the ruling of Shah, J.A. with which we are in agreement. The order is approved as settled by him. This reference is dismissed with costs.
p. 1Final orders - confirmation of single judge's ruling and dismissal of reference

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The judgment is styled 'RULING OF THE COURT' on an appeal (Civil Appeal 186 of 1995) but is in substance a short reference ruling; the underlying judgment of 28th April, 1998 and the single judge's ruling are not reproduced, limiting detail on the dispute.

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "GICHUHI KIMIRA v SAMUEL NGUNU KIMOTHO & another [1998] KECA 32 (KLR)", Case Analysis (1998). Civil Appeal 186 of 1995. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/1998/32/eng@1998-12-10

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.