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Court of AppealOtherNot stated in the judgment

Mauti v Republic (Criminal Application E018 of 2026) [2026] KECA 1084 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
3 June 2026
JMJ. Mativo
168 words in judgment
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·~1 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to decide a late-appeal application that failed to state when the original judgment was delivered, giving 30 days to supply the missing details.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a brief interlocutory ruling by Mativo, JA, sitting at Nakuru, on an undated application seeking leave to appeal out of time against a judgment in High Court Criminal Appeal (HCCRA) No. E003 of 2024. The Court found the application deficient in crucial particulars: the applicant did not state when the judgment sought to be appealed was delivered, making it impossible to ascertain the length of the delay or whether it was excusable. The respondent filed no response, which might otherwise have clarified the position, and the registry's efforts to contact the parties for the missing details were unsuccessful. Rather than dismissing the application outright for lack of merits or granting the leave sought, the Court adopted a conditional approach: it ordered the applicant to supply the missing details within 30 days, after which the application would be considered on its merits; in default, the application would stand dismissed automatically at the expiry of that period. The ruling was dated and delivered at Nakuru on 3 June 2026. No authorities or statutory provisions were cited, no costs order was made, and no decision on the substance of the extension-of-time application was reached. The decision below in HCCRA No. E003 of 2024 was not reviewed or disturbed; the ruling is purely procedural.

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 leave to appeal out of time against the judgment in HCCRA No. E003 of 2024
  2. 2.Whether the extent of the delay and its explanation can be ascertained on the material before the Court

Key legal issues

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01

Ascertainment of delay in an application for extension of time

Holding

The Court could not determine the application because the applicant failed to state when the judgment was delivered, and the respondent filed no response; the Court directed the applicant to supply the missing details within 30 days, failing which the application stands dismissed.

Reasoning

The assessment of whether a delay in filing an appeal is excusable depends on knowing when the decision sought to be appealed was rendered. Without that date, the length of the delay and any explanation for it cannot be evaluated. The registry's attempts to obtain the missing details from the parties failed, so the Court gave the applicant a defined period to cure the deficiency rather than determining the application on incomplete material.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • An applicant for extension of time must supply sufficient details, including the date of the judgment appealed against, to enable the Court to assess the delay; failure to supply ordered particulars within the stipulated period results in the application standing dismissed.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The applicant to supply the missing details (including the date of delivery of the judgment sought to be appealed against) within 30 days
  2. 2.Upon compliance, the application will be considered on merit
  3. 3.In default of compliance, the application shall stand dismissed at the expiry of the said period

The bench

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

JM
majority

Wrote the judgment

On appeal from
High Court of Kenya
HCCRA No. E003 of 2024
Jurisdiction invoked
Inherent power of the Court to grant extension of time to appeal (statutory provision not cited in the ruling)

Relief refused

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Immediate determination of the application for leave to appeal out of time

The application lacked crucial details, notably the date of the judgment, and there was no response from the respondent

p. 1

Costs

No costs order made

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.

Accordingly, I order the applicant to supply the missing details within 30 days from today after which the application will be considered on merit, in default, the application shall stand dismissed at the expiry of the said period.
p. 1Final orders - conditional determination of extension-of-time application

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The application before the Court is undated

minor

The case number of the present application and the names of the parties are not stated in the ruling

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, "Mauti v Republic (Criminal Application E018 of 2026) [2026] KECA 1084 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/1084/eng@2026-06-03

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