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Court of AppealAllowed

Nyamache v Ombui & another (Civil Appeal (Application) E267 of 2022) [2025] KECA 1684 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
21 October 2025
LKL. Kimaru
252 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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The Court of Appeal confirmed that a family member can take over a deceased person's appeal in Kenya if they act within twelve months of the death.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a short, unopposed interlocutory ruling of the Court of Appeal at Kisumu delivered by L. Kimaru, JA, on 21st October 2025. The appeal had been lodged by Nyakangi Nyamecha, who died on 26th January 2024. Joseph Bitoyo Nyakangi, who obtained a grant of letters of administration ad litem on 24th August 2024 authorising him to take over prosecution of the appeal on behalf of the estate, applied on 7th November 2024 to be substituted as appellant in place of the deceased. The application invoked rule 102 of the Court of Appeal Rules, under which an appeal does not abate on the death of a party if an interested person applies within twelve months of death to have the legal representative joined in place of the deceased; if no such application is made within twelve months, the appeal abates. The court noted that the application was filed within the stipulated twelve-month period and that the respondent filed no response, leaving the application unopposed. It allowed the applicant to substitute the deceased as appellant and made no orders as to costs. The practical effect is that the appeal remains live and will proceed with the applicant as appellant. The judgment contains no decision on the merits of the underlying appeal, no citation of case law, and no separate opinions; its significance lies in confirming the operation of rule 102 in preserving appeals from abatement where timely substitution is sought by a duly appointed legal representative.

Questions the Court framed

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

  1. 1.Whether the applicant, holding letters of administration ad litem, should be substituted for the deceased appellant within the twelve-month period prescribed by rule 102(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules

Key legal issues

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01

Substitution of a deceased appellant by his legal representative under rule 102

Holding

The court allowed the substitution because the application was made within twelve months of the deceased's death, so the appeal had not abated.

Reasoning

The deceased appellant died on 26th January 2024. The applicant obtained letters of administration ad litem on 24th August 2024 and filed the substitution application on 7th November 2024, which fell within the twelve-month period in rule 102(2). The application was unopposed, the respondent having filed no response. The court therefore exercised its power under rule 102(1) to cause the legal representative to be made a party in place of the deceased, and made no order as to costs.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • An appeal does not abate on the death of a party where the legal representative is joined in place of the deceased within twelve months of death; substitution applied for and granted within that period keeps the appeal alive.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The applicant is allowed to substitute the deceased as the appellant in this appeal
  2. 2.No orders as to costs

The bench

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

LK
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Rule 102 of the Court of Appeal Rules

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 applicant is allowed to substitute the deceased as the appellant in this appeal. There shall be no orders as to costs.
p. 2final orders - substitution and costs
This was within the stipulated period of twelve (12) months under rule 102(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules.
p. 2appeal not abated - timeliness of substitution

Issues in the judgment

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material

The opening of the judgment is blank/numbered paragraphs 1 and 2 with no content in paragraph 1; the case title, appeal number, names of the parties, and the lower-court details are not stated anywhere in the judgment as provided.

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, "Nyamache v Ombui & another (Civil Appeal (Application) E267 of 2022) [2025] KECA 1684 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). . Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1684/eng@2025-10-21

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