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Court of AppealAllowedNot disclosed in the judgment

Awiti v Republic (Criminal Application E055 of 2024) [2025] KECA 1945 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
20 November 2025
LKL. Kimaru
205 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal gave a murder convict more time to file his appeal after prosecutors did not object.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The applicant, Silas Orwa Awiti, was charged, tried and convicted of murder contrary to the Penal Code by the High Court sitting at Migori, with judgment delivered on 25th February 2022, and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment not disclosed in the application. He wished to appeal to the Court of Appeal and filed an application essentially under Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules seeking leave to file the notice of appeal out of time. The application was unopposed: the Director of Public Prosecution indicated that the applicant should be given a chance to exercise his right of appeal to the Court. Sitting at Kisumu, L. Kimaru, JA, held in a short single-judge ruling dated 20th November 2025 that the application had merit and allowed it. The applicant was granted leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time, and the notice of appeal was to be filed and served within fourteen days of the date of the ruling. No costs order was recorded. No authorities were cited and no separate opinions were delivered. This is an interlocutory procedural ruling on extension of time, not a determination of the appeal itself; the intended appeal against the murder conviction and sentence remains pending before the Court.

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 should be granted leave to file the notice of appeal out of time

Key legal issues

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01

Extension of time to file notice of appeal

Holding

The application under Rule 4 was allowed, the applicant being granted leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time, with the notice to be filed and served within fourteen days.

Reasoning

The applicant was convicted of murder by the High Court at Migori and wished to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The application for extension of time was unopposed, with the Director of Public Prosecution indicating that the applicant should be given a chance to exercise his right of appeal. On that basis the court found the application to have merit and allowed it with a fourteen-day timeline for filing and service.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • An unopposed application for extension of time to lodge a notice of appeal, where the respondent does not object to the applicant exercising the right of appeal, should be allowed.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The applicant is granted leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time
  2. 2.The notice of appeal shall be filed and served within fourteen (14) days of the date of the ruling

The bench

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

LK
majority

Wrote the judgment

On appeal from
High Court of Kenya
Not disclosed in the application
Jurisdiction invoked
Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules (extension of time to file notice of appeal)

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.

In the premises therefore, the application has merit and is hereby allowed. The applicant is granted leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time. The notice of appeal shall be filed and served within fourteen (14) days of today’s date.
p. 1Final orders - extension of time granted

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The Penal Code provision creating the murder charge appears typographically merged in the text ('section 2023'), presumably section 203 as read with section 204.

minor

The case number of the application and the sentence imposed are not disclosed in the judgment.

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, "Awiti v Republic (Criminal Application E055 of 2024) [2025] KECA 1945 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not disclosed in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1945/eng@2025-11-20

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