Jommo alias Franco v Republic (Criminal Appeal E033 of 2022) [2026] KECA 935 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that good behaviour, remorse or family hardship cannot reduce the mandatory 20-year minimum sentence for defilement of a 14-year-old.
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 Court of Appeal should interfere with the sentence of twenty years imprisonment imposed under Section 8(4) of the Sexual Offences Act on grounds of rehabilitation, remorse, family hardship and prison congestion
Key legal issues
#Whether rehabilitation, remorse and family hardship justify interference with a statutory minimum sentence on second appeal
No. The sentence of twenty years was the statutory minimum under Section 8(4) of the Sexual Offences Act, was lawful and proportionate, and mitigating considerations cannot override the statutory framework.
The court reiterated the settled principles on interference with sentence on appeal, relying on Ogalo s/o Owuora and Wanjema. The offence was grave: the victim was a 14-year-old child who suffered serious injuries requiring twenty days of hospitalisation. The Supreme Court's decision in Republic v Joshua Gichuki Mwangi reaffirmed the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentences under the Sexual Offences Act, reflecting legislative intent to protect minors.
Legal principles established
#- Sentencing is a discretionary power of the trial court, and an appellate court will only interfere where the trial court acted on wrong principles, overlooked material factors, or the sentence is manifestly excessive; a lawful sentence within statutory limits will not be disturbed merely because the appellate court would have imposed a different one
- Mitigating factors such as rehabilitation, remorse, family hardship and prison congestion do not override the mandatory statutory minimum sentences under the Sexual Offences Act
Court orders
#- 1.Dismissal of the appeal against sentence in its entirety
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
Wrote the judgment
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Kakamega
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Second appellate jurisdiction over a criminal appeal limited to sentence, the conviction not being challenged
Relief refused
#Reduction of the twenty-year sentence or substitution of a non-custodial sentence on grounds of rehabilitation, remorse, family hardship and prison congestion
Mitigating considerations cannot override the statutory framework; the sentence was lawful, proportionate and within the prescribed limits
Costs
No costs order made in the judgment
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 that sentencing is a discretionary power of the trial court, and an appellate court will only interfere with it where it is shown that the trial court acted on wrong principles, overlooked material factors, or that the sentence is manifestly excessive in the circumstances of the case.
While these are mitigating considerations, they cannot override the statutory framework.
Accordingly, we are satisfied that the appeal is devoid of merit and we dismiss it.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment repeatedly misspells 'offence' as 'ofience' and 'officers' as 'oficers', and 'affirmed' as 'afirmed'; these appear to be typographical/OCR errors in the copy provided
The memorandum of appeal is described as undated and no appeal number is stated, limiting citation precision
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Jommo alias Franco v Republic (Criminal Appeal E033 of 2022) [2026] KECA 935 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Second Appeal - Criminal Appeal (undated memorandum of appeal; number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/935/eng@2026-05-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.