Agricultural Finance Corporation v Rono
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to strike out an appeal, confirming that appeals from injunction orders made under Order XXXIX need no prior court permission.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether leave to appeal was required where the High Court application cited section 3A of the Civil Procedure Act alongside Order XXXIX rules 1 and 9
Leave was not required. The substantive application was under Order XXXIX; section 3A merely preserves inherent power and does not authorise motions.
The court noted the respondent's application was expressed to be brought under both section 3A of the Civil Procedure Act and Order XXXIX rules 1 and 9 of the Civil Procedure Rules. Since it was impossible to say which prayer was granted under which provision, the court examined the substance. Section 3A preserves inherent power but does not specifically authorise motions. The application was properly brought under Order XXXIX, and appeals from orders under that Order require no leave.
Whether the respondent failed to comply with Order XX rule 7 by not sending the draft extracted order to the applicant for approval
No failure established. The respondent deponed that the draft was sent to the applicant's counsel, who failed to approve it within a reasonable time; the applicant did not counter that averment.
The respondent's replying affidavit deponed that the draft order was forwarded to the applicant's counsel and only sent for sealing after the advocates failed to approve it within a reasonable time. The applicant did not counter this averment, so the court could not find non-compliance with Order XX rule 7. The ground therefore failed.
Legal principles established
#- Section 3A of the Civil Procedure Act preserves the court's inherent power but does not authorise the bringing of a motion under it; applications expressed under Order XXXIX require no leave to appeal.
- No leave to appeal is required for appeals from orders made pursuant to an application under Order XXXIX.
Court orders
#- 1.The application to strike out the notice of appeal dated 18th July 2002 and the record of appeal is dismissed
- 2.Costs awarded to the respondent, assessed at Kshs 10,000/=.
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 80 of the Court of Appeal Rules
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (7)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Mwanzia Mbithi v Republic[2026] KECA 1305 (KLR)10 Jul 2026
- Republic v Jeffrey Okuri Pepela & 8 others[2024] KECA 204 (KLR)1 Mar 2024applied
- Charles Maina Gitonga v Republic[2020] KESC 61 (KLR)23 Jan 2020
- Nahashon Ongwae Nyangau v Republic[2019] KECA 226 (KLR)31 Oct 2019
- Reuben Lukuru v Republic[2019] KECA 584 (KLR)3 Jul 2019
- Benjamin Wanyiri Maina v Republic[2018] KECA 242 (KLR)11 Oct 2018followed
- Joseph Njuguna Mwaura & 2 others v Republic[2013] KECA 541 (KLR)18 Oct 2013followed
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Agricultural Finance Corporation v Rono", Case Analysis (2003). Civil Case No 223 of 2002. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2003/160/eng@2003-02-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.