Mwihoko Housing Co. Ltd v Equity Business Society [2001] KECA 160 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to overturn a judge's decision denying a housing company extra time to file its appeal, and ordered it to pay costs.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the single judge erred in principle or otherwise in refusing to exercise his discretion to extend time to lodge an appeal out of time
Key legal issues
#Whether the single judge erred in refusing to extend time to lodge an appeal out of time
The Full Court found no error of principle in the single judge's exercise of discretion and dismissed the reference.
The reference under rule 54(1)(b) sought to reverse the single judge's decision of 22 December 2000 refusing extension of time. After considering the applicant's counsel's submissions, the court was not persuaded that the judge erred in principle or otherwise in refusing to exercise his discretion, nor that any material before him could have supported a different conclusion. The reference was accordingly dismissed with costs.
Legal principles established
#- A single judge's refusal to extend time to lodge an appeal out of time will not be disturbed on reference to the Full Court absent an error of principle or absence of material supporting the decision.
Court orders
#- 1.The reference is dismissed with costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
Wrote the judgment
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Nairobi (single Judge of the Court of Appeal, Justice Shah)
- H.C.C.C. No. 5992 of 1992
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 54(1)(b) of the Rules of this Court (reference to the Full Court from a decision of a single Judge)
Relief refused
#Reversal of the single judge's refusal to extend time to lodge an appeal out of time
The applicant failed to show that the single judge erred in principle or that the material before him supported any other conclusion
Costs
The reference is dismissed with costs to the respondent.
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.
we are not persuaded that the learned single judge erred in principle or otherwise in refusing to exercise his discretion. Nor was there any material before him sufficient to reach any other conclusion.
We find no merit in this reference and the same is accordingly dismissed with costs.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Mwihoko Housing Co. Ltd v Equity Business Society [2001] KECA 160 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2001). Civil Application No. Nai. 192 of 2000. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2001/160/eng@2001-05-22
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.