Murunga t/a Splinter Tours & Travel v JN Wafubwa t/a Red Impex General Services (Civil Appeal 170 of 2000) [2001] KECA 312 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal struck out an appeal because the filed record was illegible, showing sloppy paperwork can sink a case before it is even heard.
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 record of appeal, being illegible in many of its pages, complies with Rule 13(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules.
- 2.What consequence follows for an appeal founded on a record that infringes Rule 13(2).
Key legal issues
#Whether an appeal founded on a record of appeal that is illegible in many of its pages complies with Rule 13(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules, and what consequence follows.
An illegible record of appeal infringes Rule 13(2); the appeal founded on it is struck out, with liberty to the appellant to take corrective steps and with the costs of the day awarded to the respondent.
The Court of Appeal Rules prescribe the form and contents of the record of appeal, and Rule 13(2) in particular demands legible documents. A record illegible in many pages cannot enable the court or the respondent to follow the appeal, so the defect goes to the root of the appeal as filed. The court treated the non-compliance as a ground for striking out rather than dismissing the appeal on the merits, preserving the appellant's position through liberty to take corrective steps, and compensated the respondent with the costs of the day. The merits of the appeal were never reached.
Legal principles established
#- A record of appeal that is illegible in many of its pages infringes Rule 13(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules and will cause the appeal to be struck out, ordinarily with liberty to the appellant to take corrective steps.
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal struck out, with liberty to the appellant to take necessary corrective steps.
- 2.Costs of the day (8th February 2001) awarded to the respondent.
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
- H.C.C.C. No. 1321 of 1994
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Not expressly stated in the ruling; the only provision invoked is Rule 13(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules ('our Rules'), under which the illegible record of appeal was struck out.
Relief refused
#Leave to have the appeal proceed on the record of appeal as filed
The record was illegible in many of its pages, infringing Rule 13(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules.
Costs
The respondent will have his costs for today.
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.
The record of appeal filed in this matter is in many of its pages, quite illegible thus infringing Rule 13(2) of our Rules.
For this reason, the appeal is struck with liberty for the appellant to take necessary corrective steps. The respondent will have his costs for today.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Alego v Jaoko & another (Environment and Land Appeal E012 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 8321 (KLR)[2025] KEELC 8321 (KLR)27 Nov 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Murunga t/a Splinter Tours & Travel v JN Wafubwa t/a Red Impex General Services (Civil Appeal 170 of 2000) [2001] KECA 312 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2001). Civil Appeal No. 170 of 2000. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2001/312/eng@2001-02-08
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.