Board of Trustees of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Diocese of Marsabit v THW (Suing through her father and guardian ad litem HWG) (Civil Appeal 336 of 2019) [2024] KECA 1710 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal upheld a Kshs.9.3 million accident award, confirming that informal nursing care claims do not need payslips or receipts to be proved.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the award of Kshs.5,000,000 general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities was excessive
The award was fair and commensurate with the severe injuries; concurrent findings of the two courts below were affirmed
The court applied the Butt v Khan and Kemfro Africa principles, considered the gravity of the injuries, the pain and suffering, the degree of incapacity and the claimant's young age, and found no evidence that the courts below considered irrelevant matters or failed to consider relevant ones. Interference on a second appeal is reserved for matters of law.
Whether the nursing care award of Kshs.4,320,000 was valid despite being pleaded as special damages without receipts
The claim was properly pleaded and proved; strict documentary proof is not required in informal rural settings where wages are paid without payslips
The plaint pleaded the cost of employing a nurse/maid at Kshs.18,000 per month (revisable). Evidence established that PW2 and PW3 cared for the respondent, who was bedridden. The two courts below believed the witnesses. A 20-year multiplier was reasonable given the claimant's youth and lifelong palliative care needs. Comparable awards such as Ngure Edward Karega supported the quantum.
Legal principles established
#- On a second appeal, the Court of Appeal confines itself to matters of law only, unless the courts below considered matters they should not have, failed to consider matters they should have, or the decision is perverse
- An appellate court will not disturb an award of general damages unless it is so inordinately high or low as to represent an entirely erroneous estimate, or the judge proceeded on wrong principles or misapprehended the evidence in some material respect
- An appellate court may interfere with quantum where the trial judge took into account an irrelevant factor or left out a relevant one, or where the amount is so inordinately low or high that it is a wholly erroneous estimate of the damage
Court orders
#- 1.Appeal dismissed
- 2.Costs of the appeal to the respondent
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Marsabit
- Marsabit HCCA No. 7 of 2018
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Second appeal to the Court of Appeal under its appellate jurisdiction confined to matters of law
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.
- Reuben Muli & Duncan Kiboi Ngatia v Beatrice Kanini Waita[2019] KEHC 796 (KLR)19 Dec 2019applied
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Board of Trustees of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Diocese of Marsabit v THW (Suing through her father and guardian ad litem HWG) (Civil Appeal 336 of 2019) [2024] KECA 1710 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Second Appeal from Marsabit HCCA No. 7 of 2018. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2024/1710/eng@2024-11-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.