M M V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

This is a second appeal and by virtue of the provisions of Section 361(1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code we are to consider issues of law only but not matters of fact which have been tried by the first court and retried by the High Court on a first appeal. We are to resist treating matters of fact as issues of law as has been held by this Court in many cases that have come forth from the court such as the case of Stephen M’Irungi v.Republic [1982-88]1KAR, 360 where the following passage appears:

“ Where a right of appeal is confined to questions of law only, an appellate court has loyalty to accept the findings of fact of the lower court(s) and resist the temptation to treat findings of fact as holdings of law or mixed findings of fact and law, and, it should not interfere with the decisions of the trial or first appellate court unless it is apparent that, on the evidence, no reasonable tribunal could have reached that conclusion, which would be the same as hol…