27. The Complainants maintain that an Application for Review to the Kenyan
Court of Appeal is a discretionary remedy; which remedy under broadly
accepted principles among international tribunals is a discretionary
remedy which need not be exhausted. They note that the above
notwithstanding, the Kenyan Court of Appeal has itself declared that the
remedy of an Application for Review is not an accessible remedy. They
cite the case of Jasbir Singh Rai & 3 Others v Tarlochan Singh Rai & 4
Others, wherein the Kenyan Court of Appeal stated that it had no
jurisdiction to re-open, re-hear and then recall its earlier decision and
substitute it with another.5 They further cite Mahinda v Kenya Power
Lighting (earlier relied on by the Respondent State) wherein the Kenyan
Court of Appeal affirmed that its power to re-open an appeal is highly
limited and only reserved for exceptional circumstances. They maintain
that the present case is not an exceptional one for which an application for
review would be necessary.
28. Regarding the argument of the Respondent State that the Victim could
have instituted a fundamental rights application under section 84 of the
Kenyan Constitution, the Complainants submit that a fundamental rights
application is an exceptional or extraordinary remedy that the Victim was
not required to pursue in order to satisfy the requirement of Article 56(5).
29. The Complainant also submits that the Victim did not have to submit a
complaint to the Kenyan Human Rights Commission or to the Public
Complaints Standing Committee, as asserted by the State Party. They
argue that these bodies are not judicial bodies and are thus not effective
remedies which must be exhausted. They cite Cudjoe v Ghana6 wherein
(2007) Eklr, per Bosire JA, cited in page 5 of Complainant’s Submission on
Admissibility.
6 Communication 221/98 (1999)
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