Gichobi v Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd (Civil Appeal (Application) E220 of 2022) [2026] KECA 952 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal struck out an appeal because it was filed late and lacked a certified decree, confirming both requirements are mandatory.
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 appeal pending for determination before this Court was instituted within the time prescribed under rule 82(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2010
- 2.whether the record of appeal is competent in the absence of a certified decree as required under rule 87(1)(h) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2010
Key legal issues
#Whether the appeal was instituted within the sixty-day period under rule 82(1) given non-service of the request for proceedings
The respondent failed to prove service of the letter bespeaking proceedings, so time was not suspended and the appeal was filed out of time (117 days from the notice of appeal); the certificate of delay could not be invoked
Rule 82(1) requires institution within sixty days, with time excluded only where the proviso is satisfied: a written request for proceedings made within thirty days and served under rule 82(2). The court found the request email of 29th November 2021 was not copied to the applicant's advocates and bore no receipt mark. The burden of proving service lay on the respondent and was not discharged, consistent with Mistry Premji Ganji. Time therefore ran uninterrupted from 9th December 2021; even counting the certified 46-day delay period plus the 11 pre-vacation days, 69 days elapsed, exceeding sixty days.
Whether the record of appeal is competent in the absence of a certified decree under rule 87(1)(h)
The record of appeal was incompetent and incurably defective for lack of a certified decree; the omission is mandatory and goes to jurisdiction
Rule 87(1) prescribes mandatory contents of a record of appeal including the certified decree under rule 87(1)(g) and (h). The record lacked a certified decree; the respondent showed only an email forwarding a draft decree and did not invoke rule 88, which permits a supplementary record. Following Salama Beach Hotel and Bwana Mohamed Bwana, the court held that failure to include the decree renders an appeal fatally defective, and that a court cannot exercise its jurisdiction where lawful prior requirements have not been fulfilled.
Legal principles established
#- Suspension of time under the proviso to rule 82(1) is only available where a written request for proceedings has been made and duly served upon the respondent; absent such service the appellant must institute the appeal within the strict sixty-day period and cannot rely on a certificate of delay
- The requirement that a record of appeal contain a certified decree or order is mandatory, not technical or optional, and goes to the foundation of the Court's jurisdiction
- Under rule 83, failure to institute an appeal within the prescribed time deems the notice of appeal withdrawn
Court orders
#- 1.The applicant's Notice of Motion dated 12th May 2022 is allowed
- 2.The Record of Appeal dated 11th April 2022 and filed on 13th April 2022 is struck out with costs to the applicant
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
Wrote the judgment
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- Environment and Land Court
- Kajiado ELC Appeal No. E06 of 2021
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rules 42, 43, 82, 83, 84 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2010 and section 72(1) of the Civil Procedure Act
Relief refused
#Alternative prayer that the Notice of Appeal dated 7th December 2021 be deemed as withdrawn under rule 83
The court allowed the principal prayer striking out the record of appeal and did not pronounce on the alternative prayer
Costs
The Record of Appeal is struck out with costs to the applicant.
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.
In the end, and for the reasons we have set out, we are satisfied that Civil Appeal No. E220 of 2022 is incompetent. Accordingly, the applicant’s Notice of Motion dated 12th May 2022 is hereby allowed. The Record of Appeal dated 11th April 2022 and filed on 13th April 2022 is struck out with costs to the applicant.
the requirement that a record of appeal must contain a certified decree or order is neither technical nor optional. It is a prerequisite that goes to the very foundation of the Court’s jurisdiction
The burden lay squarely upon the respondent to prove service of the letter bespeaking proceedings, and that burden was not, in our view, discharged.
the suspension of time under the proviso to rule 82(1) is only available where a written request for proceedings has been made and duly served upon the respondent
Issues in the judgment
#The applicant's written submissions are dated 15th January 2026, over three years after the Notice of Motion dated 12th May 2022, an unexplained chronology within the judgment
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Gichobi v Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd (Civil Appeal (Application) E220 of 2022) [2026] KECA 952 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Civil Appeal No. E220 of 2022. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/952/eng@2026-05-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.