04/02/2026
Supreme Court Warns Against Using Prosecution as Persecution – Jirongo v Soy Developers Ltd & 9 Others
The Supreme Court has once again drawn a clear line between legitimate prosecution and abuse of the criminal justice system.
In Jirongo v Soy Developers Ltd & 9 Others, a case involving the late Cyrus Jirongo, the Court held that instituting criminal proceedings twenty-four (24) years after the transaction—in what was essentially a civil dispute—amounted to persecution and violated the constitutional rights of the accused.
Importantly, the Court set out key principles for assessing delayed criminal complaints and investigations, namely:
• The length of the delay
• The reasons for the delay
• And most critically, the effect of the delay on the accused’s right to a fair defence
The message is clear: criminal law should not be weaponised to settle civil scores.
Read the full decision here: eng@2021-07-16" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kesc/2021/32/eng@2021-07-16
Jirongo v Soy Developers Ltd & 9 others (Petition 38 of 2019) [2021] KESC 32 (KLR) (16 July 2021) (Judgment) Cyrus Shakhalanga Khwa Jirongo v Soy Developers Ltd & 9 others [2021] eKLR Neutral citation: [2021] KESC 32 (KLR) Republic of Kenya In the Supreme Court of Kenya Petition 38 of 2019 PM Mwilu,...
