Kirui v Republic (Criminal Application E053 of 2025) [2025] KECA 1890 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal gave a prisoner nearly a year late permission to appeal, ruling his 11-month delay was not unreasonable given his 30-year sentence.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the applicant has satisfied the principles for extension of time to file an appeal out of the statutory period, including whether his explanation for the delay warrants the exercise of the Court's discretion in his favour.
Key legal issues
#Whether the applicant's explanation for the delay justified extension of time under Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022.
Although the applicant's explanation (non-supply of proceedings and judgment) was found unconvincing because he did not demonstrate that he requested the record and was ignored, the Court nevertheless exercised its discretion in his favour, holding that the delay of almost 11 months was not inordinate given that he is serving a 30-year sentence.
The Court applied the Salat principles, noting that extension of time entails judicial discretion that must be exercised judicially on some grounds. It found the applicant's explanation unconvincing for failure to show a request for the record was ignored, but concluded the delay was not inordinate in light of the custodial sentence being served, and granted leave to file the appeal within 45 days.
Legal principles established
#- An applicant for extension of time must explain the reasons for the delay and any extenuating circumstances; a judicial discretion cannot be exercised on no grounds, and whether grounds advanced are sufficient is for the Court to determine.
- Under Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022, the Court's discretion to extend time is unfettered and may be exercised before or after the doing of the act, on such terms as the Court thinks just.
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 14th April 2025 is allowed.
- 2.The applicant shall file his appeal within 45 days from the date of the ruling.
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya
- CRA No. E011 of 2022
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022 (extension of time jurisdiction)
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
It is incumbent upon the applicant to explain the reasons for delay in making the application for extension and whether there are any extenuating circumstances that can enable the Court to exercise its discretion in favour of the applicant.
Accordingly, the application dated 14th April 2025 is hereby allowed. The applicant shall file his appeal within 45 days from the date of this ruling.
Issues in the judgment
#Internal tension: the Court describes the applicant's explanation as unconvincing yet proceeds to find the delay not inordinate and grants the application.
The Sexual Offences Act provision is cited incompletely in the judgment ('section 8 (1) as read with 8'), leaving the substituted sub-section unstated.
The DPP's assertion that the applicant is serving an illegal sentence conflicts with the record that the High Court lawfully substituted the life sentence with 30 years; the Court made no finding on this.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kirui v Republic (Criminal Application E053 of 2025) [2025] KECA 1890 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Court of Appeal Criminal Application (Nakuru) arising from Notice of Motion dated 14th April 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1890/eng@2025-11-11
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.