Ahawo v Kenya Airport Authority (Civil Application E162 of 2022) [2024] KECA 1595 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal let an unemployed woman continue her appeal without paying court fees, showing money troubles don't have to end a valid case.
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 applicant should be granted leave to appeal as a pauper under Rule 115(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules
- 2.Whether the period within which the applicant ought to file and serve her Memorandum and Record of Appeal should be extended
Key legal issues
#Whether the applicant met the pauper-suit threshold under Rule 115(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules
Yes. The applicant's unchallenged affidavit, corroborated by a Deputy Registrar's report dated 19th July 2024 confirming she is unemployed and has no source of income, satisfied the threshold for leave to appeal as a pauper.
The Court examined the supporting affidavit in which the applicant deponed that she was unable to pay the assessed fees of Kshs 100,400 for the Memorandum of Appeal and Kshs 6,000 for the Record of Appeal because she was unemployed. A Deputy Registrar's report confirmed she lacked sufficient financial resources, relying only on support from her son. The respondent did not challenge the application despite service, and the Court found the threshold met.
Extension of time to file and serve the Memorandum and Record of Appeal
Granted, but conditional: the Memorandum and Record of Appeal must be filed and served within 60 days, failing which the orders stand vacated.
The applicant had prepared the Memorandum and Record of Appeal, which were assessed at Kshs 100,400 and Kshs 6,000 respectively, and was prevented from lodging them solely by her inability to pay the assessed fees. Having found her indigency established and unchallenged, the Single Judge allowed the motion and imposed a 60-day compliance window with an automatic vacation clause to prevent indefinite delay.
Legal principles established
#- An applicant under Rule 115(1) must satisfy the Court that they lack the means to pay the required fees or deposit security for costs and that the appeal is not without reasonable possibility of success; where this threshold is met, the appeal may be lodged without prior payment of fees or without security for costs.
Court orders
#- 1.The applicant is granted leave to file the intended appeal as a pauper
- 2.The intended appeal shall be filed in accordance with the Rules of this Court
- 3.The Memorandum and Record of Appeal shall be filed and served within 60 days from the date of the ruling, failing which the orders shall stand vacated
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nyeri (sitting in Nairobi)
- Nairobi ELRC Cause No. 985 of 2014
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 159(2)(9) of the Constitution of Kenya and Rules 4, 39, 42, 43 and 115 of the Court of Appeal Rules (2010), the Court sitting as a Single Judge
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 applicant is hereby granted leave to file the intended appeal as a pauper.
The Memorandum and Record of Appeal shall be filed and served within a period of 60 days from the date of this ruling, failure to which these orders shall stand vacated.
From the circumstances therefore, I am satisfied that the applicant has met the threshold to be allowed to file suit as a pauper.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment inconsistently identifies the judge of the Employment and Labour Relations Court whose judgment is being appealed, attributing it to both Nzioki wa Makau J and Radido Stephen J on the same delivery date.
The judgment does not name the respondent in the application, despite reciting that the respondent was served with the hearing notice.
The judgment does not state the case number of this application before the Court of Appeal.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Ahawo v Kenya Airport Authority (Civil Application E162 of 2022) [2024] KECA 1595 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Nairobi Civil Application No. (not stated) - Motion dated 6th May 2022. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2024/1595/eng@2024-11-08
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.