Faulu Micro Finance Bank Limited v Joseph Kipngeno Kirui & another [2021] KECA 521 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Court of Appeal dismissed Faulu Bank's request for more time to appeal because it couldn't prove why its filing was three months late.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Extension of time under Rule 4
The application failed because the applicant did not satisfactorily explain the delay of about three months, producing no documentation of its internal approval timeline, and the intended appeal against an exercise of discretion showed no likelihood of success.
The court reaffirmed the Leo Sila Mutiso principles: length of delay, reason for delay, arguability, and prejudice. The applicant attributed the delay to Covid-19 restructuring and board approval processes but produced only two emails about staff working from home, no evidence of when the approval process began or ended. The intended appeal attacked a discretionary injunction decision, undermining arguability, and prejudice was not apparent.
Competence of the stay-of-proceedings prayer before a single Judge
The stay of proceedings application was not properly before the single Judge sitting in chambers and could not be determined.
The Judge noted that a stay of proceedings application was not within what could be determined in an in-chambers single Judge application of this nature, and confined the determination to the extension of time prayer.
Legal principles established
#- Under Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules the Court has an unfettered discretion to extend time, exercised judiciously and guided by the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the chances of success of the appeal, and prejudice to the respondent.
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 18th September, 2020 be and is hereby dismissed with costs to the respondents
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya, Commercial & Tax Division, Nairobi
- Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2017
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules (extension of time)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Faulu Micro Finance Bank Limited v Joseph Kipngeno Kirui & another [2021] KECA 521 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Civil Application No. E 301 of 2020. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2021/521/eng@2021-06-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.