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Court of AppealDismissedCriminal Appeal (unnumbered as printed, Court of Appeal Nyeri)

lebite v Republic (Criminal Appeal 184 of 2017) [2025] KECA 1751 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
24 October 2025
SKS. Ole KantaiJLJ. LesiitALAli-Aroni
519 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed the famous Muruatetu ruling only scrapped mandatory death sentences for murder, not robbery with violence.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The appellant, James Lebite, was convicted of robbery with violence contrary to section 296(2) of the Penal Code by the Principal Magistrate's Court at Maralal and sentenced to death. His first appeal to the High Court at Nanyuki was dismissed by Kasango, J. on 8th November 2017. Before the Court of Appeal at Nyeri, counsel for the appellant abandoned all grounds on conviction and argued a single ground: that the mandatory death sentence for robbery with violence denied the trial court discretion and violated Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution because the accused had no opportunity to mitigate; the appellant had in fact said he had nothing to say in mitigation. Counsel relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Muruatetu (Petition No. 15 and 16 of 2015, Directions of 6 July 2021), which declared the mandatory nature of the death sentence under section 204 of the Penal Code unconstitutional in murder cases. The Court of Appeal, differently constituted from the High Court bench, held that the Muruatetu declaration was confined to murder and that the Attorney-General had not, as far as the court was aware, developed the directed framework for other mandatory-sentence offences. On that threshold, the death sentence for robbery with violence remained lawful. The court found the appeal to have no merit and dismissed it in a judgment delivered at Nyeri on 24th October 2025 by Ole Kantai, Lesiit and Ali-Aroni, JJA. No separate costs order appears in the judgment.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether the mandatory death sentence for robbery with violence under section 296(2) of the Penal Code is unconstitutional in light of the Muruatetu declarations
  2. 2.Whether the appeal on sentence, the only ground not abandoned, has merit

Key legal issues

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01

Applicability of Muruatetu 2 to mandatory death sentences for offences other than murder

Holding

The Court of Appeal held that the Muruatetu declaration did not avail the appellant, who was convicted of robbery with violence rather than murder; the sentence of death for robbery with violence remained lawful under the Supreme Court's threshold

Reasoning

The court noted that Muruatetu concerned section 204 of the Penal Code (murder). Although the Supreme Court directed the Attorney-General to develop a framework for other offences carrying mandatory sentences, the court was not aware that this had been done. Accordingly, the appellant's sentence, though mandatory, was lawful, and the ground of appeal on sentence had no merit.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • The Muruatetu declaration of unconstitutionality applies only to the mandatory death sentence under section 204 of the Penal Code in murder cases; it does not automatically invalidate the mandatory death sentence for robbery with violence under section 296(2), absent the Attorney-General's framework extending the ruling to other offences

Court orders

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  1. 1.Appeal dismissed (dismissal of the appeal against sentence, conviction having been abandoned)

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

SK
majority
JL
majority
AL
majority
On appeal from
High Court of Kenya at Nanyuki
Jurisdiction invoked
Second appeal under the Court of Appeal's appellate jurisdiction over the High Court in criminal matters (Constitution and Criminal Procedure Code; judgment does not cite the specific provision)

Relief refused

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Setting aside of the death sentence on the ground of its mandatory nature

The Muruatetu declaration was limited to the mandatory death sentence in murder cases under section 204 of the Penal Code; the appellant was convicted of robbery with violence, and under the Supreme Court's threshold the sentence imposed was lawful

p. 2

Costs

No order as to costs is recorded in the judgment.

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

As per the threshold of the Supreme Court that was a lawful sentence.
p. 2Lawfulness of mandatory death sentence for robbery with violence post-Muruatetu
We find the appeal to have no merit and we dismiss it.
p. 2Final orders - dismissal of appeal
The Supreme Court therefore declared mandatory death sentence in murder cases to be unconstitutional.
p. 2Scope of Muruatetu declaration limited to murder

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The coram lists the judges without an indication of which judge authored the judgment; no named author appears

minor

The judgment refers to a case number/neutral citation for the present appeal not being stated, and the consolidated petition citation for Muruatetu is printed with typographical errors ('ofiences', 'efiience', 'difierently'), suggesting OCR defects

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "lebite v Republic (Criminal Appeal 184 of 2017) [2025] KECA 1751 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Criminal Appeal (unnumbered as printed, Court of Appeal Nyeri). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1751/eng@2025-10-24

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.