Silas Kirai Jackson v Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (ketraco)
The bottom line
#The Court of Appeal dismissed a land compensation appeal solely because it was filed late without permission, showing strict deadlines can sink even a heard appeal.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the appellant could rely on the proviso to rule 84(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022
No - the appellant did not bespeak proceedings within 30 days of the judgment and did not serve the letter bespeaking proceedings on the respondent, as required by rule 84(2)
Rule 84(1) requires lodging the record of appeal within 60 days of the notice of appeal. The proviso excludes the time taken to prepare proceedings only where the appellant applied for proceedings in writing within 30 days and served the application on the respondent. The appellant wrote to the trial court about 100 days after judgment and did not copy the letter to the respondent, so he could not bring himself within rule 84(2) and the proviso was unavailable.
The remedy where an appeal is filed out of time without leave and determined after plenary hearing
The appeal is incompetent and, having been heard, cannot be deemed withdrawn; it must be dismissed with costs
Rule 85(1) provides that a party who fails to institute an appeal within the appointed time is deemed to have withdrawn the notice of appeal. However, where the defect is identified only after the appeal has been fully heard, deeming the appeal withdrawn is inapt. The Court therefore dismissed the appeal with costs, applying rule 85(1) and (2) and its prior decisions in Mugambi v KETRACO and Mae Properties.
Legal principles established
#- An appellant must file the record of appeal within 60 days of the notice of appeal, and may only extend that period under the proviso if he applied for proceedings in writing within 30 days of the decision and served that application on the respondent; otherwise the appeal must be lodged out of time only with leave under Rule 4
- An appeal filed out of time without leave is incompetent, and where the incompetence is determined after the appeal has been heard, the appeal must be dismissed rather than deemed withdrawn
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is dismissed with costs to the respondent
- On appeal from
- Environment and Land Court at Meru
- ELC Case No. 44 of 2016 (OS)
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appellate jurisdiction over the Environment and Land Court; appeal governed by the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022 (Rules 4, 31(1), 84, 85, 89)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Silas Kirai Jackson v Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (ketraco)", Case Analysis (2025). Civil Appeal (Nyeri) - from ELC Case No. 44 of 2016 (OS) at Meru. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1500/eng@2025-09-19
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.