1. Before this Court is the Applicant's Notice of Motion seeking revision of the sentence imposed upon him by the Chief Magistrate's Court at Nyamira in Criminal Case No. 14 of 2016. He contends that the trial court did not comply with section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code by failing to take into account the period he spent in lawful custody before his conviction.
2. Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code obligates a sentencing court to take into account the period an accused person has spent in lawful custody before sentence. In Ahamad Abolfathi Mohammed & another v Republic [2018] KECA 743 (KLR),the Court of Appeal affirmed that this duty requires the court to give meaningful credit for the period spent in pre-sentence custody by computing the sentence from the appropriate date where the circumstances so require.
3. The Applicant hereinwas in custody from 21st November 2016 to 28th December 2016 when he was released on bond, a period of approximately thirty-eight (38) days. The period he subsequently spent out on bond pending trial does not qualify as time spent in custody for purposes of section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
4. Consequently, the sentence imposed upon the Applicant on 18th May 2021 shall be reckoned after giving credit for the thirty-eight (38) days spent in custody between 21st November 2016 and 28th December 2016 . Save for that adjustment, the sentence shall remain unchanged.
5. The Officer in Charge of the prison where the Applicant is held shall recompute the sentence accordingly.
2. Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code obligates a sentencing court to take into account the period an accused person has spent in lawful custody before sentence. In Ahamad Abolfathi Mohammed & another v Republic [2018] KECA 743 (KLR),the Court of Appeal affirmed that this duty requires the court to give meaningful credit for the period spent in pre-sentence custody by computing the sentence from the appropriate date where the circumstances so require.
3. The Applicant hereinwas in custody from 21st November 2016 to 28th December 2016 when he was released on bond, a period of approximately thirty-eight (38) days. The period he subsequently spent out on bond pending trial does not qualify as time spent in custody for purposes of section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
4. Consequently, the sentence imposed upon the Applicant on 18th May 2021 shall be reckoned after giving credit for the thirty-eight (38) days spent in custody between 21st November 2016 and 28th December 2016 . Save for that adjustment, the sentence shall remain unchanged.
5. The Officer in Charge of the prison where the Applicant is held shall recompute the sentence accordingly.