Criminal Practice and Procedure - trial - trial with the aid of assessors in murder cases - right of an accused to be tried in the presence of assessors - trial court discharging assessors in mid-trial without giving reasons - whether the trial was defective - whether a retrial should be ordered - matters an appellate court will consider in deciding whether to order a retrial - court considering the issue of whether taking into account the admissible and potentially admissible evidence, a conviction was likely - Penal Code section 203, 204

Criminal law - intoxication - intoxication as a defence to a charge of murder - drunkenness - duty of a trial court to consider the issue of intoxication even when it arises from the evidence of the prosecution

Sentencing - concurrent and consecutive sentences - matters a court will consider in deciding whether to order sentences to run concurrently or consecutively - consideration of whether the offences were committed in one transaction and whether the offences were of a similar nature - personation, making a false document, obtaining by false pretences - accused pleading guilty to 12 counts - trial court failing to enter a  conviction but proceeding to pronounce sentences of a fine of Kshs. 20,000 and imprisonment for three years on each count - High Court on first appeal lumping the counts into three groups, with each group of counts carrying with it sentences of imprisonment for three years - on the aggregate, appellant to serve 13 years in prison - offences not committed in one transaction but being of a similar nature

[Ruling] Civil Practice and Procedure - appeal - extension of time - application for extension of time to file notice of appeal and record of appeal - reference of a decision of a single appellate judge to the full court - whether the single appellate judge had exercised his discretion judicially - principles upon which the full court could interfere with the exercise of discretion by the single judge - Court of Appeal Rules rule 54(1)(b)

Criminal Practice and Procedure - rights of an accused person - constitutional rights - right to a fair trial - right to be brought to court within a reasonable time - appellant arguing that his constitutional rights had been  violated after he had been held in custody for more than 14 days after his arrest on suspicion of murder - the law in force at the time providing for committal proceedings as a prelude to criminal trials in the High Court - whether in the circumstances, the appellant's allegation of breach of his rights had merit - Constitution section 72(3)

Criminal law - murder - appeal against conviction and sentence of death - re-evaluation of the evidence - identification evidence - ballistics evidence - Penal Code section 203, 204

Sentencing - principles of sentencing - sentence for manslaughter - appellant having killed the deceased by stabbing him to death with knife- unarmed deceased having turned against the appellant after the appellant had violently tried to break a fight between him and another person - High Court sentencing the appellant to imprisonment for six years - whether the sentence was harsh and excessive - whether the trial court had erred failing to include in the sentence the period of 4 years during which the appellant had been in custody.

Sentencing - sexual offences - defilement of a girl aged under 16 - alternative charge of indecent assault on a female - second count of causing grievous bodily harm  - second appeal against sentence of 40 years imprisonment with hard labour for attempted defilement and life imprisonment for causing grievous harm - sentences to run concurrently - whether the sentence was harsh and excessive - Penal Code section 144(1), 145(1), 234

Sentencing - enhancement of sentence - circumstances in which an appeal court can enhance a sentence - manslaughter - accused person having inflicted fatal head injuries on a young girl with a garden implement - accused person convicted on his own plea of guilty - second appeal against conviction and sentence of imprisonment for seven years - High Court having enhanced the sentence to 30 years on the first appeal - appellant not having appealed against sentence and the state not having filed any notice to enhance the sentence - whether enhancement of the sentence was proper.

[Ruling] Civil Practice and Procedure – extension of time – application for extension of time to lodge notice of appeal – grounds: the applicants were financially disadvantaged and could not give their lawyers instructions within the time prescribed – matters which the court will take into account when considering whether to extend time – where applicants are not sure about the reason for the delay – whether there was merit in the application - Court of Appeal Rules rule 4

Negligence - road traffic accident - liability - apportionment of liability for a road traffic accident - criminal proceedings for traffic offence resulting in an acquittal - weight that a civil court may place on such acquittal - whether acquittal binding in civil court - standard of proof - matters the court will consider in determining liability

Damages - general and special damages - damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities arising from personal injuries - assessment of damages - expenses already incurred and future expenses - manner of pleading prospective expenses

[Ruling] Civil Practice and Procedure - extension of time - time for filing and serving a notice of appeal - application for extension of time - initial appeal having been struck out - duty of the applicants to satisfactorily explain the delay in bringing the application.