Munyi (Suing as next of friend of CMM - Minor) & another v Minet Kenya Insurance Brokers Ltd & another (Civil Application E508 of 2025) [2026] KECA 383 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal struck out an extension-of-time application because the appellant never filed the required Notice of Appeal within fourteen days of judgment.
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 application for leave to file and serve the appeal out of time is competent in the absence of a filed Notice of Appeal
- 2.Whether the delay in preparing certified proceedings justifies extension of time
Key legal issues
#Competence of an extension-of-time application where no Notice of Appeal was filed
The application is incompetent because no Notice of Appeal was filed and no prayer or reasons addressed its omission
Rule 77(2) mandates filing a Notice of Appeal within fourteen days of the decision. The Applicant never averred to filing one nor produced it, sought no extension of time for filing it, and gave no reason for the omission. Certified proceedings were irrelevant to that obligation. Absent the Notice of Appeal, the Court cannot entertain the application, which must be struck out.
Whether delay in obtaining certified proceedings excuses the delay
Delay in preparing certified proceedings does not excuse failure to file a Notice of Appeal, since no certified proceedings are required for that step
The Applicant attributed the delay to the 72 days the High Court took to prepare certified proceedings. The Court held that a Notice of Appeal does not require certified proceedings, so the Certificate of Delay did not justify the failure to lodge the Notice within fourteen days.
Legal principles established
#- A Notice of Appeal filed within fourteen days of the decision is a prerequisite to the Court of Appeal's jurisdiction over any application relating to an intended appeal; without it, an application for extension of time to file the substantive appeal is incompetent.
- Rule 77(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022 requires a Notice of Appeal to be filed within fourteen days of the decision, and certified proceedings need not accompany it.
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 22nd July 2025 is struck out
- 2.No orders as to costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
- HCCHRPET/E481/2022
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 77(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022 - extension of time to file appeal
Relief refused
#Leave to file and serve the appeal out of time against the High Court judgment of 9th December 2024
No Notice of Appeal was filed within the required fourteen days, no prayer sought extension of time for filing the Notice of Appeal, and no reason was given for its omission; without a Notice of Appeal the Court's jurisdiction is not triggered
Costs
No orders as to costs
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.
Absent a notice of appeal, I cannot consider the plea and reasons for extension of time to file the substantive appeal, since the Notice of Appeal is the main pleading that triggers this Court’s jurisdiction to hear any application in relation to an appeal
The application dated 22nd July 2025 is accordingly struck out for the above reasons, with no orders as to costs.
In effect, the instant application is incompetently filed before this Court.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment states the parties had not filed responses and there was no evidence the respondents were served, yet the Court refers to perusing submissions without explaining their provenance
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Munyi (Suing as next of friend of CMM - Minor) & another v Minet Kenya Insurance Brokers Ltd & another (Civil Application E508 of 2025) [2026] KECA 383 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Notice of Motion dated 22nd July 2025 (arising from HCCHRPET/E481/2022). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/383/eng@2026-02-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.