Evans Achimba v Stitch Masters Limited
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that sitting on a filed appeal for too long can get it thrown out as withdrawn.
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- 1.Whether the respondent's notice of appeal dated 24th June, 2015 should be deemed withdrawn under Rule 83 for failure to institute the appeal within the appointed time
Key legal issues
#Whether failure to institute an appeal within the time prescribed by Rule 82(1) warrants deeming the notice of appeal withdrawn under Rule 83
The notice of appeal was deemed withdrawn because the respondent failed to file the appeal by 31st October, 2016 despite the certified proceedings being ready on 30th August, 2016, and showed no interest by non-appearance.
The court applied Rule 83, adopting the Quicklubes criteria: a party who files a notice of appeal and then goes to slumber may have it deemed withdrawn. The certified proceedings were ready on 30th August, 2016, so the appeal was due by 31st October, 2016 under Rule 82(1). No appeal was filed, and the respondent neither responded to nor appeared at the hearing, evidencing loss of interest.
Legal principles established
#- Where a party who has lodged a notice of appeal fails to institute the appeal within the appointed time, the court may, on its own motion or on application, deem the notice of appeal withdrawn under Rule 83.
Court orders
#- 1.The application is allowed with costs
- 2.The notice of appeal dated 24th June, 2015 is deemed as withdrawn with costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- On appeal from
- Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nairobi
- Cause No. 539 of 2012
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Sections 3A & 3B of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act and Rules 1(2), 82(1) & 83 of the Court of Appeal Rules
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.
Rule 83 gives this court unfettered discretion to deem an appeal as withdrawn if a party files a notice of appeal and then goes to slumber, by failing to initiate the other necessary processes to ensure that the appeal is filed and served.
The Rule is meant to stem abuse of the court process and also promote efficiency in terms of case management.
In the end, we find that the application has merit and is hereby allowed with costs. The notice of appeal dated 24 th June, 2015 is deemed as withdrawn with costs.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Evans Achimba v Stitch Masters Limited", Case Analysis (2019). Civil Application No. 6 of 2017. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2019/1055/eng@2019-01-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.