Section 197 of Criminal Procedure Code CAP 75: Manner of recording evidence before magistrate
(1) In trials by or before a magistrate, the evidence of the witnesses shall be recorded in the following manner—
(a) the evidence of each witness shall be taken down in writing or on a typewriter in the language of the court by the magistrate, or in his presence and hearing and under his personal direction and superintendence, and shall be signed by the magistrate, and shall form part of the record;
(b) such evidence shall not ordinarily be taken down in the form of question and answer, but in the form of a narrative:
Provided that the magistrate may take down or cause to be taken down any particular question and answer.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), a record of any proceedings at a trial by or before a magistrate may be taken in shorthand if the magistrate so directs; and a transcript of the shorthand shall be made if the magistrate so orders, and the transcript shall form part of the record.
(3) If a witness asks that his evidence be read over to him the magistrate shall cause that evidence to be read over to him in a language which he understands.
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- Section 198 - Interpretation of evidence to accused or his advocate
(1) Whenever any evidence is given in a language not understood by the accused, and he is present in person, it shall be interpreted to him in open court in a language which he understands.
(2) If he...
- Section 199 - Remarks respecting demeanour of witness
When a magistrate has recorded the evidence of a witness, he shall also record such remarks (if any) as he thinks material respecting the demeanour of the witness whilst under examination.
- Section 200 - Conviction on evidence partly recorded by one magistrate and partly by another
(1) Subject to subsection (3), where a magistrate, after having heard and recorded the whole or part of the evidence in a trial, ceases to exercise jurisdiction therein and is succeeded by another...
- Section 201 - Rules as to taking down of evidence
(1) The Chief Justice may make rules of court prescribing the manner in whichevidence shall be taken down in cases coming before the High Court, and the judges shall take down the evidence or the...
- Section 202 - Non-appearance of complainant at hearing
If, in a case which a subordinate court has jurisdiction to hear and determine, the accused person appears in obedience to the summons served upon him at the time and place appointed in the summons...
- Section 203 - Appearance of both parties
If at the time appointed for the hearing of the case both the complainant and the accused person appear before the court which is to hear and determine the charge, or if the complainant appears and...
- Section 204 - Withdrawal of complaint
If a complainant, at any time before a final order is passed in a case under this Part, satisfies the court that there are sufficient grounds for permitting him to withdraw his complaint, the court...
- Section 205 - Adjournment
(1) The court may, before or during the hearing of a case, adjourn the hearing to a certain time and place to be then appointed and stated in the presence and hearing of the party or parties or their...
- Section 206 - Non-appearance of parties after adjournment
(1) If, at the time or place to which the hearing or further hearing is adjourned, the accused person does not appear before the court which made the order of adjournment, the court may, unless the...
- Section 207 - Accused to be called upon to plead
(1) The substance of the charge shall be stated to the accused person by the court, and he shall be asked whether he pleads not guilty, guilty or guilty subject to a plea agreement.
[Issue 2]
(2) If...
- Section 208 - Procedure on plea of not guilty
(1) If the accused person does not admit the truth of the charge, the court shallproceed to hear the complainant and his witnesses and other evidence (if any).
(2) The accused person or his advocate...
- Section 210 - Acquittal of accused person when no case to answer
If at the close of the evidence in support of the charge, and after hearing such summing up, submission or argument as the prosecutor and the accused person or his advocate may wish to put forward, it...
- Section 211 - Defence
(1) At the close of the evidence in support of the charge, and after hearing such summing up, submission or argument as may be put forward, if it appears to the court that a case is made out against...
- Section 212 - Evidence in reply
If the accused person adduces evidence in his defence introducing a new matter which the prosecutor could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have foreseen, the court may allow the prosecutor...
- Section 213 - Order of speeches
The prosecutor or his advocate and the accused and his advocate shall be entitled to address the court in the same manner and order as in a trial under this Code before the High Court.
- Section 214 - Variance between charge and evidence, and amendment of charge
(1) Where, at any stage of a trial before the close of the case for the prosecution, it appears to the court that the charge is defective, either in substance or in form, the court may make such order...
- Section 215 - Decision
The court having heard both the complainant and the accused person, and their witnesses and evidence shall either convict the accused and pass sentence upon or make an order against him according to...
- Section 216 - Evidence relative to proper sentence or order
The court may, before passing sentence or making an order against an accused person under section 215, receive such evidence as it thinks fit in order to inform itself as to the sentence or order...
- Section 217 - Drawing up of conviction or order
The conviction or order may, if required, be afterwards drawn up and shall be signed by the court making the conviction or order, or by the clerk or other officer of the court.
- Section 218 - Order of acquittal bar to further procedure
The production of a copy of the order of acquittal, certified by the clerk or other officer of the court, shall without other proof be a bar to a subsequent information or complaint for the same...
- Section 219 - Limitation of time for summary trials in certain cases
Except where a longer time is specially allowed by law, no offence the maximum punishment for which does not exceed imprisonment for six months, or a fine of one thousand shillings, or both, shall be...
- Section 221 - Committal to higher court for sentence
(1) Where a person of not less than eighteen years of age is convicted by a subordinate court of the second class of an offence which is punishable by either that court or a subordinate court of the...
- Section 274 - Pleading to information
The accused person to be tried before the High Court upon an information shall be placed at the bar unfettered, unless the court sees cause otherwise to order, and the information shall be read over...
- Section 275 - Orders for amendment of information, separate trial, and postponement of trial
(1) Every objection to an information for a formal defect on the face thereof shall be taken immediately after the information has been read over to the accused person and not later.
(2) Where,...
- Section 276 - Quashing of information
(1) If an information does not state, and cannot by amendment authorized bysection 275 be made to state, an offence of which the accused has had notice, it shall be quashed either on a motion made...
- Section 277 - Procedure in case of previous convictions
Where an information contains a count charging an accused person with having been previously convicted for an offence, the procedure shall be as follows—
(a) the part of the information stating the...
- Section 278 - Effect of plea of “not guilty”
An accused person, upon being arraigned upon an information, by pleading generally thereto the plea of “not guilty” shall, without further form, be deemed to have put himself upon the country for...
- Section 279 - Plea of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict
(1) An accused person against whom an information is filed may plead—
(a) that he has been previously convicted or acquitted of the same offence; or
(b) that he has obtained the President’s pardon...
- Section 280 - Refusal to plead
(1) If an accused person being arraigned upon an information stands muteof malice, or neither will nor by reason of infirmity can, answer directly to the information, the court may order the Registrar...
- Section 281 - Plea generally and application of Part IVA
(1) An accused person may plead not guilty, guilty, or guilty subject to a pleaagreement.
(2) Where an accused person pleads guilty subject to a plea agreement, theprovisions of Part IV relating to...
- Section 282 - Procedure on plea of “not guilty”
If the accused pleads “not guilty”, or if a plea of “not guilty” is entered in accordance with section 280, the court shall proceed to try the case.
- Section 283 - Power to postpone or adjourn proceedings
(1) If, from the absence of witnesses or any other reasonable cause to berecorded in the proceedings, the court considers it necessary or advisable to postpone the commencement of or to adjourn a...
- Section 300 - Opening of case for prosecution
The advocate for the prosecution shall open the case against the accused person,and shall call witnesses and adduce evidence in support of the charge.
- Section 302 - Cross-examination of witnesses for prosecution
The witnesses called for the prosecution shall be subject to cross-examination by the accused person or his advocate, and to re-examination by the advocate for the prosecution.
- Section 306 - Close of case for prosecution
(1) When the evidence of the witnesses for the prosecution has been concluded, the court, if it considers that there is no evidence that the accused or any one of several accused committed the offence...
- Section 307 - Defence
(1) The accused person or his advocate may then open his case, stating the facts or law on which he intends to rely, and making such comments as he thinks necessary on the evidence for the...
- Section 308 - Additional witnesses for the defence
The accused person shall be allowed to examine any witness not previously summoned to give evidence at the trial, if that witness is in attendance.
- Section 309 - Evidence in reply
If the accused person adduces evidence in his defence introducing new matter which the advocate for the prosecution could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have foreseen, the court may allow...
- Section 310 - Prosecutor’s reply
If the accused person, or any one of several accused persons, adduces any evidence, the advocate for the prosecution shall, subject to the provisions of section 161, be entitled to reply.
- Section 311 - Where accused adduces no evidence
If the accused person says that he does not intend to give or adduce evidence and the court considers that there is evidence that he committed the offence, the advocate for the prosecution shall then...
- Section 322 - Delivery of judgment
(1) When the case on both sides is closed, the judge shall then give judgment.
(2) If the accused person is convicted, the judge shall pass sentence on him according to law.
- Section 323 - Calling upon the accused
If the judge convicts the accused person, or if the accused person pleads guilty, the Registrar or other officer of the court shall ask him whether he has anything to say why sentence should not be...
- Section 324 - Motion in arrest of judgment
(1) The accused person may, at any time before sentence, whether on his pleaof guilty or otherwise, move in arrest of judgment on the ground that the information does not, after any amendment which...
- Section 325 - Sentence
If no motion in arrest of judgment is made, or if the court decides against the accused person upon a motion, the court may sentence the accused person at any time during the session.
- Section 326 - Power to reserve decision on question raised at trial
The court before which a person is tried for an offence may reserve the giving of its final decision on questions raised at the trial, and its decision whenever given shall be considered as given at...
- Section 327 - Power to reserve questions arising in the course of the trial
(1) When a person has, in a trial before the High Court, been convicted of anoffence, the judge may reserve and refer for the decision of a court consisting of two or more judges of the High Court any...
- Section 328 - Objections cured by verdict
No judgment shall be stayed or reversed on the ground of an objection which, if stated after the information was read over to the accused person, or during the progress of the trial, might have been...
- Section 329 - Evidence for arriving at a proper sentence
The court may, before passing sentence, receive such evidence as it thinks fit in order to inform itself as to the proper sentence to be passed.
- Section 329A - Interpretation
In this Part—
“family victim”, in relation to an offence as a direct result of which a primary victim has died, means a person who was, at the time the offence was committed, a member of the primary...
- Section 329B - Application of Part
This Part applies in relation to an offence that is being dealt with by any court, where the offence results in the death of, or actual physical bodily harm to, any person.