Sikowo v Republic (Criminal Application E015 of 2025) [2025] KECA 1664 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that once it delivers final judgment, it cannot reopen the matter, even through a fresh constitutional petition filed in the High Court.
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 has jurisdiction to entertain an application for extension of time to appeal against the dismissal of a constitutional petition, given that the Court had earlier finally determined the applicant's appeal
- 2.Whether the applicant should be granted leave to appeal out of time
Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal over an extension-of-time application following its own final judgment
The Court lacks jurisdiction; it is functus officio after its judgment of 31st January 2020 affirming the conviction and sentence, and the High Court is equally functus officio and without jurisdiction over the matter.
The Court reasoned that its judgment of 31st January 2020 in Criminal Appeal No. 42 of 2015 finally disposed of the applicant's appeal, exhausting its jurisdiction. The subsequent constitutional petition before the High Court, dismissed on 23rd January 2023, was a disguised second appeal. The only permissible route was an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against that decision. No drafting device could revive jurisdiction in either court.
Whether the delay in lodging the notice of appeal was excusable
The application failed on jurisdictional grounds; the explanation of lack of funds did not arise for decision.
Although the applicant attributed the delay to lack of funds to instruct counsel, the Court did not reach the merits of the extension-of-time discretion because the threshold issue of jurisdiction was dispositive. The respondent filed no response, and the Court dismissed the application as lacking merit without engaging the delay explanation.
Legal principles established
#- Once the Court of Appeal has pronounced final judgment on an appeal, it becomes functus officio and lacks jurisdiction to entertain any further plea arising from the same matter, including applications premised on a constitutional petition filed in the High Court
- A litigant who has exhausted appeals up to the Court of Appeal cannot circumvent the finality of that decision by filing a constitutional petition in the High Court; the only available course is to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court
Court orders
#- 1.The application for extension of time is dismissed as lacking merit
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Bungoma
- Constitutional Petition (unnumbered in judgment)
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules (extension of time to appeal)
Relief refused
#Extension of time to lodge an appeal to the Court of Appeal
The Court had become functus officio after delivering its judgment on 31st January 2020; the applicant's proper course was to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, not to file a constitutional petition in the High Court
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.
once this Court pronounced itself on 31st January, 2020 in the Judgment delivered on that day, this Court became functus oficio for all intents and purposes
No litigation craft by the applicant, however pleaded, can change this fact.
Filing an appeal disguised as a Constitutional Petition before the High Court will not do. The applicant has reached the end of the road.
The application lacks merit and is hereby dismissed.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment does not state the case number of the present application, the neutral citation, or the title of the constitutional petition dismissed by the High Court, and records no costs order despite the application being dismissed.
The coram records only one Judge of Appeal, L. Kimaru, delivering the judgment; the judgment is dated and delivered at Kisumu but the station of the file is not otherwise confirmed in the body of the ruling.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sikowo v Republic (Criminal Application E015 of 2025) [2025] KECA 1664 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Criminal Application (Extension of Time). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1664/eng@2025-10-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.