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Court of AppealAllowedNot stated in the judgment

M’Njara & another v Muthoni (Civil Appeal (Application) E193 of 2024) [2025] KECA 1416 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
31 July 2025
SKS. Ole Kantai
547 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal allowed late filing of a supplementary appeal record because delays were explained by a certificate of delay and no prejudice to the other side.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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By a motion on notice under rules 88 and 92(3) of the Court of Appeal Rules, Paul Muriuki M'Njara and Polly Nkirote sought leave to file a supplementary record of appeal following a judgment of the High Court at Chuka (Lucy Gitari, J.) delivered on 23rd February 2024. They explained that when they filed their appeal and record of appeal on 29th October 2024, typed proceedings had not been supplied despite their having applied for them; the typed proceedings and a certificate of delay dated 9th March 2024 had since been availed, and they prayed that the draft supplementary record be deemed duly filed, contending the respondent would suffer no prejudice. In a ruling delivered at Nyeri on 31st July 2025, S. Ole Kantai, JA applied the well-established Fakir Mohamed vs. Joseph Mugambi principles governing extension-of-time applications, recalling the relevant factors: the period of and reason for delay, the chances of the appeal succeeding, prejudice to the respondent, the effect on public administration, the importance of compliance with time limits, the parties' resources and public importance. Satisfied that a certificate of delay had been issued and typed proceedings had since been supplied, the learned Judge held the applicants deserving of the discretionary relief. The Motion was allowed, the supplementary record of appeal was deemed duly filed, and costs of the Motion were reserved to the appeal. This is an interlocutory single-judge ruling, not a decision on the merits of the appeal.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether the applicants should be granted leave to file a supplementary record of appeal out of time
  2. 2.Whether the draft supplementary record of appeal should be deemed as duly filed

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the applicants deserved an exercise of discretion in their favour to file a supplementary record of appeal

Holding

The court, satisfied by the certificate of delay and the fact that typed proceedings had since been supplied, allowed the application and deemed the supplementary record duly filed.

Reasoning

The court applied the settled Fakir Mohamed principles for extension-of-time applications, which treat the length of and reason for delay, prejudice to the respondent, and other relevant factors as guiding an unfettered discretion. Judgment had been delivered on 23rd February 2024; a certificate of delay had been issued on 9th March 2024; and proceedings had since been availed. No prejudice to the respondent was shown. The applicants were therefore found deserving of the discretionary relief sought.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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    Court orders

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    1. 1.The Motion is allowed
    2. 2.The supplementary record of appeal is deemed as duly filed
    3. 3.Costs of the Motion will be in the appeal

    The bench

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    One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

    SK
    majority

    Wrote the judgment

    On appeal from
    High Court of Kenya at Chuka
    Jurisdiction invoked
    Rules 88 and 92(3) of the Court of Appeal Rules and all enabling provisions of law

    Quotable passages

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    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 period of delay, the reason for the delay, (possibly) the chances of the appeal succeeding if application is granted, the degree of prejudice to the respondent if the application is granted, the efiect of the delay on public administration, the importance of compliance with time limits, the resources of the parties, whether the matter raises issues of public importance – are all relevant but not exhaustive factors
    p. 2Factors for extension of time / leave to file supplementary record
    I allow the Motion. The supplementary record of appeal is deemed as duly filed. Costs of the Motion will be in the appeal.
    p. 2Final orders and costs

    Issues in the judgment

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    minor

    The judgment states the High Court judgment was delivered on 23rd February, 2024, but the supporting affidavit and paragraph 4 reference dates (application for typed proceedings, record filed 29th October 2024) leave the respondent unnamed and the appeal number unstated, limiting identification of the parties and appeal.

    Key timeline

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    Practical implications

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    Frequently asked questions

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    Cite this brief

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    Cite this brief

    Caselaw, "M’Njara & another v Muthoni (Civil Appeal (Application) E193 of 2024) [2025] KECA 1416 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1416/eng@2025-07-31

    Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.