Marinai v Awoi (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application 1 of 2024) [2024] KEELC 1832 (KLR)

The applicant claimed he learned of the judgment one and a half months after delivery, i.e. around 15 June 2023, but the application was filed on 20 February 2024, over 7 months later. No explanation was given for that delay, and although the applicant said the file was at the typing pool, there was no evidence he had applied for typed proceedings or the judgment. The court therefore could not exercise its discretion to enlarge time without proper grounds.

The applicant did not annex the decree or judgment appealed from, making it impossible to tell whether the judgment was negative or positive. Since stay of execution pending appeal is only available against a positive judgment, that limb could not be granted. The entire application accordingly failed with costs.

The court accepted that the applicant has a constitutional right to be represented by an advocate of his choice, and noted the plea that mistakes of an advocate should not be visited on a litigant. However, that principle could not overcome the unexplained 7-month delay and the failure to demonstrate an arguable appeal with annexed proceedings.