Wakilii

Nyong'o and Others v A.G. of Kenya (Application 1 of 2010; Application 2 of 2010)

East African Court of Justice · [2010] EACJ 3 · 2010 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Cross-applications for extension of time to serve memorandum and record of appeal, and to strike out appeal
Decision
Extension of time granted; appeal permitted to proceed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court granted the Attorney General's application for extension of time to serve the memorandum and record of appeal. The Court found that the delay was partly attributable to Court personnel who failed to issue an official receipt and did not promptly inform the applicant when documents were ready for collection. The Court held that under rule 4 of the EACJ Rules, sufficient reason must be shown before the Court's discretion to extend time arises, and that an applicant should not suffer for delays emanating from the Court itself.

Outcome

Extension of time granted; appeal permitted to proceed

Facts

The Attorney General of Kenya filed a memorandum and record of appeal on 28 December 2009 but did not serve it within the seven days prescribed by rule 90(1) of the EACJ Rules. The documents were presented to a Registry Clerk who issued only an unofficial handwritten acknowledgement, stating the Registrar was unavailable to sign. The Clerk allegedly undertook to notify the Attorney General when documents were ready but only did so on 6 January 2010. The Attorney General's clerk collected the documents on 8 January 2010 and served them on 13 January 2010. Professor Nyong'o and 10 Others applied to strike out the appeal for late service. The Attorney General applied for an extension of time, arguing the delay was caused by hardship at the Court Registry.

Issues

  1. Whether the Attorney General of Kenya should be granted an extension of time to serve the memorandum and record of appeal.
  2. Whether the appeal should be struck out for failure to serve within the prescribed time under rule 90(1) of the East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure, 2008.

Orders

  • Application No. 1 of 2010 dismissed.
  • Application No. 2 of 2010 granted.
  • Time for service under Application No. 2 of 2010 deemed extended to 13 January 2010.
  • Costs to be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Sufficient Reason Test
Under rule 4 of the East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure, 2008, the Court may extend time for doing any act if sufficient reason is shown. The Court's discretion to extend time only arises after sufficient reason has been established; it is only then that other considerations such as absence of prejudice and prospects of success may be considered.
Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Delay Attributable to Court
Where delay in complying with procedural time limits is partly attributable to Court personnel or administrative failures at the Court Registry, an applicant should not be made to suffer for such delay when seeking an extension of time.
Civil Procedure — Substantive Justice — Technicalities
The East African Court of Justice is pre-eminently a Court of Justice and stands prepared to administer substantive justice without undue regard to technicalities, especially technicalities of practice, process or procedure.

Cases cited (3)

  • Wasike v Khisa and Another [2004] IKLR 197
  • Abdul Aziz Ngoma v Mungai Mathayo and Another [1976-80] IKLR 75
  • Boney M Katatumba v Waheed Karim (Civil Application No. 27 of 2007)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Nyong'o and Others v A.G. of Kenya (Application 1 of 2010; Application 2 of 2010) [2010] EACJ 3 (22 June 2010)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.