Uhuru Highway Development Ltd & Others v Central Bank of Kenya Deposit Fund Protection Board & 3 Others
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that a party's case cannot proceed without its lawyer when illness, backed by credible medical evidence, prevents representation.
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 respondent's application for adjournment, founded on the illness of its advocate, was made on reasonable grounds
- 2.Whether refusal of the adjournment would occasion injustice to a party to the appeal
Key legal issues
#Factors a court considers before allowing an application for adjournment
An adjournment sought on the ground of an advocate's illness, supported by an unchallenged medical report from a reputable hospital, is made on reasonable grounds and should be allowed in the interests of justice.
The court was satisfied that the medical report came from a reputable hospital and that its authenticity was not challenged. The illness prevented the advocate from representing one of the main parties. Refusing the adjournment would leave that party unrepresented, occasioning injustice, so the application was allowed in the interests of justice.
Legal principles established
#- An adjournment may properly be granted where a party's advocate is prevented by a reasonable cause, such as illness, from representing a main party, since refusal would leave the party unrepresented and occasion injustice.
Court orders
#- 1.The application for adjournment is allowed
- 2.The appeal is taken out of that day's and the following day's cause list and stood over to new dates to be obtained in the Registry on a priority basis
- 3.The Deputy Registrar is advised to assign at least four days for the hearing of the appeal
- 4.The costs of that day shall be in the appeal in any event
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal over Civil Appeal No 286 of 2001 (specific provision not stated 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.
The application for adjournment in this case was made upon reasonable grounds, namely, an illness or incapacity to represent one of the main parties to the appeal.
If an adjournment was refused in this case, one of the parties to the appeal would not be represented thus occasioning it injustice.
In the interests of justice we allow the application for adjournment.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Uhuru Highway Development Ltd & Others v Central Bank of Kenya Deposit Fund Protection Board & 3 Others", Case Analysis (2002). Civil Appeal No 286 of 2001. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2002/321/eng@2002-05-22
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.