Case ID:176072

Ltsoison Stephen Mtukai v Republic [2021] eKLR

Case Metadata

Case Number:

Criminal Petition 9 of 2019

Parties:

Ltsoison Stephen Mtukai v Republic

Date Delivered:

03 Jun 2021

Case Class:

Criminal

Court:

High Court at Nanyuki

Case Action:

Ruling

Judge(s):

Hatari Peter George Waweru

Citation:

Ltsoison Stephen Mtukai v Republic [2021] eKLR

Court Division:

Criminal

County:

Laikipia

Case Outcome:

Petition struck out

Disclaimer:

The information contained in the above segment is not part of the judicial opinion delivered by the Court. The metadata has been prepared by Kenya Law as a guide in understanding the subject of the judicial opinion. Kenya Law makes no warranties as to the comprehensiveness or accuracy of the information

REPUBLIC OF KENYA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NANYUKI

CRIMINAL PETITION NO 9 OF 2019

LTSOISON STEPHEN MTUKAI....................PETITIONER

VERSUS

REPUBLIC..................................................RESPONDENT

(IN THE MATTER OF THE SENTENCE PASSED ON 04/10/2017 IN NANYUKI HC CRIMINAL CASE NO 8 OF 2016)

R U L I N G

1. The Petitioner herein,

LTSOISON STEPHEN MTUKAI

, was convicted of murder vide

Nanyuki HC Criminal Case No 8 of 2016

(formerly

Nyeri HC Criminal Case No 22 of 2012

). On 04/10/2017 he was sentenced to death (Kasanso, J). He appealed to the

Court of Appeal

at Nyeri vide that Court’s

Criminal Appeal No 179 of 2017

against conviction and sentence). On 16/09/2020 the Court of Appeal at Nyeri marked the appeal as withdrawn and deemed dismissed. The Petitioner supplied to this court a certified extract of that order of the Court of Appeal.

2. In the meantime the Petitioner had approached this court by a petition filed on 03/07/2019 by which he sought a “

re-hearing on the sentence only”

, seeking in effect a review of the sentence of death imposed upon him on 04/10/2017.

3. When the matter came up for hearing on 03/05/2021 learned counsel for the Respondent submitted that this court has no jurisdiction to review a sentence it has passed in exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction, unless the matter has been referred back to it by a higher court.

4. The power of criminal review (called

revision

) of this court is provided for in

sections 362

and

364

of the

Criminal Procedure Code, Cap 75

, and extends only to –

“…the record of any criminal proceedings before any subordinate court for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order recorded or passed, and as to the regularity of any proceedings of any such subordinate court.”

(Section 362)

The details of those powers of the High Court in revision are set out in section 364.

5. I have not come across any statutory provision that gives this court any criminal revisionary jurisdiction over its own findings, sentences or orders made or passed in exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction. Those are matters for appeal to the

Court of Appeal

, unless of course that court, or the

Supreme Court of Kenya,

refers back to this court any particular matter with directions for review of sentence, etc.

6. The Petitioner’s application for revision of the sentence imposed upon him by this court (Kasango, J) in Nanyuki HC Criminal Case No 8 of 2016 (formerly Nyeri HC Criminal Case No 22 of 2012) is clearly misconceived. His recourse is by way of appeal to the Court of Appeal. The petition is hereby struck out. It is so ordered.

DATED AND SIGNED AT NANYUKI THIS 2

ND

DAY OF JUNE 2021

H P G WAWERU

JUDGE

DELIVERED AT NANYUKI THIS 3

RD

DAY OF JUNE 2021