Omollo v Republic (Criminal Appeal 60 of 2020) [2025] KECA 982 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed it cannot reduce mandatory sexual offences sentences, so the appellant's 75-year prison term stands.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Court of Appeal may reduce a sentence under the mandatory provisions of the Sexual Offences Act following the Supreme Court's jurisprudence
The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to interfere with a sentence under section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act where it was imposed by the trial court and affirmed on first appeal, as the Supreme Court has upheld the validity of mandatory minimum sentences including life imprisonment
The Court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Republic v Mwangi; ISLA (Amicus Curiae), which held that mandatory minimum sentences under the Sexual Offences Act do not violate Articles 25, 27, 28, 50 or judicial independence under Article 160, and that any sentence imposed at trial and affirmed on first appeal remains lawful while section 8 stands. The Court also relied on R v Evans Nyamari Ayako, in which the Supreme Court set aside the Court of Appeal's equation of life imprisonment with 30 years, holding that Parliament, not the Judiciary, sets sentencing parameters. Accordingly, the Court declined to interfere with the sentence.
The scope of a second appeal
A second appeal is confined to points of law; the Court will not interfere with concurrent factual findings unless they are based on no evidence, a misapprehension of the evidence, or wrong principles
The Court restated the settled test for second appeals, citing Karingo & 2 Others v Republic [1982] eKLR: the question is whether there was any evidence on which the trial court could find as it did. On this appeal, however, the challenge related only to sentence, so the factual findings of the courts below were not in issue.
Legal principles established
#- A second appeal is confined to points of law, and the Court will not interfere with concurrent findings of fact of the two courts below unless based on no evidence or made on wrong principles
- Following the Supreme Court's decisions in Republic v Mwangi (ISLA) and R v Evans Nyamari Ayako, the Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to interfere with sentences imposed under the mandatory provisions of the Sexual Offences Act, including life imprisonment, which is valid and lawful and not reducible to a fixed term of years
Court orders
#- 1.The appellant's appeal against sentence is dismissed in its entirety
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Second appeal to the Court of Appeal confined to points of law under the Court of Appeal's appellate jurisdiction; no specific constitutional/statutory provision cited in the judgment
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Omollo v Republic (Criminal Appeal 60 of 2020) [2025] KECA 982 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Criminal Appeal (unnumbered in judgment as provided). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/982/eng@2025-05-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.