ELIJAH ISABOKE & WASHINGTON OMONDI V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The two appellants, Elija Isaboke and Washington Omondi, were tried and convicted on six counts of robbery with violence contrary to section 296(2) of the Penal Code by a Senior Resident Magistrate at Mombasa and upon their conviction each of them was sentenced to suffer death in the manner authorized by the law. They then appealed against their conviction and sentence to the High Court at Mombasa but by its judgment dated 11th April, 2003, the High Court (Onyango Otieno, J (as he then was) and Ouna, J) dismissed their appeals. The appellants now come to this Court by way of second appeal.

When the appeal came up for hearing before us on 24th January, 2005 the learned Senior State Counsel, Mr. Ogoti, addressed us stating that the State was conceding the appeals but asked us to order a retrial of the two appellants. Mr. Ogoti’s main reason for conceding the appeal was that while the trial was conducted up to the closure of the prosecution case by a qualified prosecu…