Section 275 of Criminal Procedure Code CAP 75: 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, before a trial upon information or at any stage of the trial, it appears to the court that the information is defective, the court shall make an order for the amendment of the information as the court thinks necessary to meet the circumstances of the case, unless, having regard to the merits of the case, the required amendments cannot be made without injustice; and any amendments shall be made upon such terms as to the court shall seem just.
(3) Where an information is so amended, a note of the order for amendment shall be endorsed on the information, and the information shall be treated for the purposes of all proceedings in connexion therewith as having been filed in the amended form.
(4) Where, before a trial upon information or at any stage of the trial, the courts is of the opinion that the accused may be prejudiced or embarrassed in his defence by reason of being charged with more than one offence in the same information, or that for any other reason it is desirable to direct that the accused should be tried separately for any one or more offences charged in an information, the court may order a separate trial of any count or counts of the information.
(5) Where, before a trial upon information or at any stage of the trial, the court is of the opinion that the postponement of the trial of the accused is expedient as a consequence of the exercise of any power of the court under this Code, the court shall make such order as to the postponement of the trial as appears necessary.
(6) Where an order of the court is made under this section for a separate trial or for postponement of a trial—
(a) Repealed by Act No. 7 of 2007, Sch.
(b) the procedure on the separate trial of a count shall be the same in all respects as if the count had been found in a separate information, and the procedure on the postponed trial shall be the same in all respects (provided that the assessors, if any, have been discharged) as if the trial had not commenced; and
(c) the court may make such order as to admitting the accused to bail, and as to the enlargement of recognizances and otherwise, as the court thinks fit.
(7) A power of the court under this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other power of the court for the same or similar purposes.
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- 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.
- Section 329C - When victim impact statements may be received and considered
(1) If it considers it appropriate to do so, a court may receive and consider a victim impact statement at any time after it convicts, but before it sentences, an offender.
(2) If the primary victim...
- Section 329D - Victim impact statements discretionary
(1) The giving of a victim impact statement is not mandatory.
(2) A victim impact statement shall not be received or considered by a court if the victim or any of the victims to whom the statement...
- Section 329E - Formal requirements for victim impact statements
(1) A victim impact statement shall be in writing and shall comply with suchother requirements as are prescribed by rules of court.
(2) If a primary victim is incapable of providing information for...
- Section 329F - Rules of court
The Chief Justice may make any rules of court necessary or expedient to be made for carrying this Part into effect.
- Section 330 - Accused to be informed of right to appeal
When an accused person is sentenced to death, the court shall inform him of the time within which, if he wishes to appeal, his appeal should be preferred.
- Section 331 - Authority for detention
A certificate under the hand of the Registrar or other officer of the court that sentence of death has been passed, and naming the person condemned, shall be sufficient authority for the detention of...
- Section 332 - Record and report to be sent to President
(1) As soon as conveniently may be after sentence of death has been pronounced, if no appeal from the sentence is confirmed, then as soon as conveniently may be after confirmation, the presiding judge...
- Section 333 - Warrant in case of sentence of imprisonment
(1) A warrant under the hand of the judge or magistrate by whom a person issentenced to imprisonment, ordering that the sentence shall be carried out in any prison within Kenya, shall be issued by the...
- Section 334 - Warrant for levy of fine, etc.
(1) When a court orders money to be paid by an accused person or by aprosecutor or complainant for fine, penalty, compensation, costs, expenses or otherwise, the money may be levied on the movable and...
- Section 335 - Objections to attachment
(1) Any person claiming to be entitled to or to have a legal or equitable interest in the whole or part of property attached in execution of a warrant issued under section 334 may, at any time prior...
- Section 336 - Suspension of execution of sentence of imprisonment in default of fine
(1) When a convicted person has been sentenced to a fine only and to imprisonment in default of payment of a fine, and whether or not a warrant of distress has been issued under section 334, the court...
- Section 337 - Commitment for want of distress
If the officer having the execution of a warrant of distress reports that he could find no property or not sufficient property whereon to levy the money mentioned in the warrant with expenses, the...
- Section 338 - Commitment in lieu of distress
When it appears to the court that distress and sale of property would be ruinous to the person ordered to pay the money or his family, or (by his confession or otherwise) that he has no property...
- Section 339 - Payment in full after commitment
A person committed for non-payment may pay the sum mentioned in the warrant, with the amount of expenses therein authorized (if any), to the person in whose custody he is, and that person shall...
- Section 340 - Part payment after commitment
(1) If a person who is confined in prison for non-payment of a sum adjudgedby a court in its criminal jurisdiction to be paid under this Code or under any other Act pays a sum in part satisfaction of...
- Section 341 - Who may issue warrant
A warrant for the execution of a sentence may be issued either by the judge or magistrate who passed the sentence or by his successor in office.
- Section 342 - Limitation of imprisonment for non-payment of fine, etc.
No commitment for non-payment shall be for a longer period than six months, unless the law under which the conviction has taken place enjoins or allows a longer period.
- Section 343 - Person twice convicted may be subject to police supervision
(1) When a person, having been convicted of an offence punishable withimprisonment for a term of three years or more is again convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a similar term or...
- Section 344 - Requirements from persons subject to police supervision
(1) A court may at any time direct that a person shall, whilst subject to police supervision under section 343 and at large in Kenya, comply with all or any of the following requirements, and may vary...
- Section 344A - Automatic police supervision
(1) A person who is convicted of an offence under section 296(1), 297(1), 308 or 322 of the Penal Code the Prevention of Terrorism Act or the Sexual Offences Act shall be subject to police supervision...
- Section 345 - Failure to comply with requirements under section 344
(1) A person subject to police supervision who fails to comply with a requirementplaced upon him or her by or by virtue of section 344 or 344A commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to...
- Section 346 - Errors and omissions in orders and warrants
The court may at any time amend a defect in substance or in form in an order or warrant, and no omission or error as to the time and place, and no defect in form in an order or warrant given under...
- Section 347 - Appeal to High Court
(1) Save as is in this Part provided—
(a) a person convicted on a trial held by a subordinate court of the first or second class may appeal to the High Court; and
(b) Repealed by Act No. 5 of 2003,...
- Section 348 - No appeal on plea of guilty, nor in petty cases
No appeal shall be allowed in the case of an accused person who has pleaded guilty and has been convicted on that plea by a subordinate court, except as to the extent or legality of the sentence.