MIGWANI FAMILY HELPERS PROJECT vs HAMIDAS BOUTIQUE [1999] KECA 144 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal struck out an appeal because the record lacked certified copies of the decrees, showing certification is non-negotiable.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether an appeal whose record does not contain certified copies of the decrees appealed against is competent
Key legal issues
#Competence of an appeal where certified copies of the decrees are absent from the record
The appeal is incompetent and must be struck out
The court treated the absence of certified copies of the decrees appealed against as a fatal defect going to the competence of the appeal. Without the certified decrees the Court of Appeal cannot properly seised itself of the appeal, and the only available course was to strike the appeal out, with no order as to costs.
Legal principles established
#- An appeal to the Court of Appeal must include certified copies of the decrees appealed against; a record of appeal lacking them is incompetent and liable to be struck out
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is struck out with no order as to costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Machakos
- H.C.C.C. No. 91 of 1996
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal under the Constitution of Kenya and the Appellate Jurisdiction Act (not expressly stated in the judgment)
- Consolidated with
- Civil Appeal No. 90 of 1996
Relief refused
#Prosecution of the appeal on the merits
The record of appeal lacked certified copies of the decrees appealed against, rendering the appeal incompetent
Costs
No order as to costs
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
As the record of appeal does not contain certified copies of the decrees appealed against, this appeal is incompetent and is hereby struck out with no order as to costs.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment is a one-paragraph order; it does not state the statutory basis of the decision or the procedural rule requiring certified copies of decrees
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "MIGWANI FAMILY HELPERS PROJECT vs HAMIDAS BOUTIQUE [1999] KECA 144 (KLR)", Case Analysis (1999). Civil Appeal No. 250 of 1998. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/1999/144/eng@1999-05-26
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.