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Court of AppealAllowedNot stated in the judgment

Kerongo alias Masese v Republic (Criminal Application E072 of 2024) [2025] KECA 1981 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
20 November 2025
LKL. Kimaru
203 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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·~1 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal gave a murder convict more time to file his appeal because the prosecution did not oppose the request.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a single-judge application under Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules for extension of time to lodge a notice of appeal. The applicant, Peter Kerongo alias Masese, was convicted of murder contrary to section 203 as read with section 204 of the Penal Code and sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment by the High Court at Kisii on 11th July 2023. He wished to appeal to the Court of Appeal but needed leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time. The application was unopposed: Ms. Victorine Kitoto, a Prosecution Counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, swore a replying affidavit indicating the prosecution's decision not to oppose it. The court found the application had merit, allowed it, granted leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time, and directed that the notice be filed and served within fourteen days. No costs order was made and no authorities were cited. As an interlocutory single-judge ruling, it does not announce any new binding rule of general application; its operative effect is the specific leave granted and the fourteen-day filing timeline, which now opens the applicant's substantive appeal against conviction and sentence.

Questions the Court framed

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

  1. 1.Whether the applicant should be granted extension of time to lodge a notice of appeal out of time

Key legal issues

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01

Whether to extend time to lodge a notice of appeal against a conviction and sentence for murder

Holding

The court allowed the unopposed application and granted leave to file the notice of appeal out of time, with fourteen days to file and serve.

Reasoning

The applicant was convicted of murder and sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment by the High Court at Kisii on 11th July 2023 and wished to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The application was brought under Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules and was not opposed; the prosecution counsel swore a replying affidavit indicating the decision not to oppose it. On that basis the court found the application had merit, allowed it, and directed that the notice of appeal be filed and served within fourteen days.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • Where an extension-of-time application under Rule 4 is unopposed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and has merit, the court will allow it and grant leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time.

Court orders

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  1. 1.Application allowed
  2. 2.Leave granted to lodge the notice of appeal out of time
  3. 3.Notice of appeal to be filed and served within fourteen (14) days of the date of the order

The bench

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

LK
majority

Wrote the judgment

On appeal from
High Court of Kenya at Kisii
Jurisdiction invoked
Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules (extension of time to lodge appeal)

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.

In the premises therefore, the application has merit and is hereby allowed. The applicant is granted leave to lodge the notice of appeal out of time.
p. 1extension of time granted
The said notice of appeal shall be filed and served within fourteen (14) days of today’s date.
p. 1final orders - timeline for filing notice of appeal

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The judgment does not state the case number, neutral citation, or the High Court murder case number against which the appeal is intended.

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, "Kerongo alias Masese v Republic (Criminal Application E072 of 2024) [2025] KECA 1981 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/1981/eng@2025-11-20

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