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Court of AppealAllowedCriminal Application E143 of 2024· [2025] KECA 2247 (KLR)

Njoroge v Republic

Court of Appeal
19 December 2025
AAA Ali-Aroni
805 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal gave a life-sentence prisoner more time to appeal, accepting that being jailed without a lawyer explained his delay.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a single-judge ruling of the Court of Appeal at Nyeri (Ali-Aroni, JA) on a notice of motion dated 12 September 2024 by Stephen Githae Njoroge, seeking leave to file an appeal out of time and exemption from paying costs, brought under section 361 of the Criminal Procedure Code and rules 43, 44 and 60 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022. The applicant was convicted of defilement contrary to sections 8(1) and 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act and sentenced to life imprisonment on 11 April 2018. His first appeal to the High Court at Murang'a (Chirchir, J.) was dismissed on 18 April 2023. He explained the delay of roughly seventeen months by stating that, being in prison, he relied on relatives to secure counsel for him, which did not materialise, while his intention to appeal remained. The respondent filed no response and no submissions were filed. The court identified a single issue: whether extension of time should be granted. Relying on rule 4 of the Rules and the principles in Leo Sila Mutiso v Rose Hellen Wangari Mwangi as restated in Ngige v Republic and Mukuha v Republic, the judge found the applicant's explanation sufficient to allow him to pursue his constitutional right of appeal. The application was allowed and the intended memorandum of appeal was to be filed within 14 days of the ruling. No costs order was made. The decision below was not disturbed; the ruling is procedural, granting a gateway to a future appeal.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether leave to file an appeal out of time should be granted

Holding

Extension of time granted; the applicant's explanation of delay, being in prison and relying on relatives to secure counsel, was found sufficient.

Reasoning

Rule 4 confers a discretionary power to extend time. Applying the Leo Sila Mutiso principles - length of delay, reason for delay, chances of success and prejudice to the respondent - the court found the applicant's reason, that as an imprisoned person he relied on relatives to obtain counsel without success, sufficient to allow him to pursue his constitutional right of appeal.

Legal principles established

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  • The Court may extend time limited by the Court of Appeal Rules on such terms as may be just, under rule 4.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The application is allowed
  2. 2.The intended memorandum of appeal be filed within the next 14 days of the date of the ruling
On appeal from
High Court of Kenya at Murang'a
HCCRA No. 26 of 2018
Jurisdiction invoked
Section 361 of the Criminal Procedure Code and rules 4, 43, 44 and 60 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (12)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Njoroge v Republic", Case Analysis (2025). Criminal Application E143 of 2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/2247/eng@2025-12-19

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