Evidence Law: Facts Requiring no Proof

Section 59-61 of the Kenya Evidence Act
FACTS REQUIRING NO PROOF
59. Facts judicially noticed
No fact of which the court shall take judicial notice need be proved.
59A. Agreement on facts not in issue
(1) If an accused person has appointed an advocate and, at any stage during
the proceedings, it appears to a prosecutor that a particular fact or facts which must
be proved in a charge against an accused person is or are not in issue or shall
not be placed in issue in criminal proceedings against the accused person, the
prosecutor may, forward or hand a notice to the accused person and his advocate
setting out that fact or those facts and stating that such fact or facts shall be deemed
to have been proved at the proceedings unless notice is given that any such fact
shall be placed in issue.
(2) The notice by the prosecutor under subsection (1) shall be sent by registered
mail or handed to the accused and his advocate personally at least fourteen
days before the commencement of the criminal proceedings or the date set for
the continuation of such proceedings, or within such shorter period as may be
approved by the court or agreed upon by the accused person or his advocate and
the prosecutor.
(3) If any fact mentioned in the notice under subsection (2) is intended to be
placed in issue at the proceedings, the accused person and his advocate shall at
least five days before the commencement or the date set for the continuation of
the proceedings, or within such shorter period as may be approved by the court
or agreed upon with the prosecutor, deliver a notice in writing to that effect to the
registrar or the clerk of the court, as the case may be, or orally notify the registrar
or the clerk of the court to that effect, in which case the registrar or the clerk of the
court shall record such notice.
(4) If, after receipt of the notice from the prosecutor under subsection (1), any
fact mentioned in that notice is not placed in issue as under subsection (3), the
court may deem such fact or facts, subject to subsections (5) and (6), to have been
sufficiently proved at the proceedings concerned.
(5) If a notice was forwarded or handed over by a prosecutor under subsection
(1), the prosecutor shall notify the court at the commencement of the proceedings
of such fact and of the response thereto, if any, and the court shall thereupon
institute an investigation into those facts which are not disputed and enquire from
the accused person whether he confirms the information given by the prosecutor,
and whether he understands his rights and the implications of the procedure and where the advocate of the accused person replies to any question by the court
under this section, the accused person shall be required by the court to declare
whether he confirms such reply or not.
(6) The court may on its own motion or at the request of the accused person
order oral evidence to be adduced regarding any fact contemplated in subsection
(4).

60. Facts of which court shall take judicial notice
(1) The courts shall take judicial notice of the following facts—
(a) all written laws, and all laws, rules and principles, written or unwritten,
having the force of law, whether in force or having such force as
aforesaid before, at or after the commencement of this Act, in any part
of Kenya;
(b) the general course of proceedings and privileges of Parliament, but
not the transactions in their journals;
(c) Articles of War for the Kenya Military Forces;
(d) deleted by L.N. 22/1965;
(e) the public seal of Kenya; the seals of all the courts of Kenya; and all
seals which any person is authorized by any written law to use;
(f) the accession to office, names, titles, functions and signatures of
public officers, if the fact of their appointment is notified in the Gazette;
(g) the existence, title and national flag of every State and Sovereign
recognized by the Government;
(h) natural and artificial divisions of time, and geographical divisions of
the world, and public holidays;
(i) the extent of the territories comprised in the Commonwealth;
(j) the commencement, continuance and termination of hostilities
between Kenya and any other State or body of persons;
(k) the names of the members and officers of the court and of their
deputies, subordinate officers and assistants, and of all officers acting
in execution of its process, and also of all advocates and other
persons authorized by law to appear or act before it;
(l) the rule of the road on land or at sea or in the air;
(m) the ordinary course of nature;
(n) the meaning of English words;
(o) all matters of general or local notoriety;
(p) all other matters of which it is directed by any written law to take judicial
notice.
(2) In all cases within subsection (1) of this section, and also on all matters of
public history, literature, science or art, the court may resort for its aid to appropriate
books or documents of reference.
(3) If the court is called upon by any person to take judicial notice of any fact,
it may refuse to do so unless and until such person produces any such book or
document as it considers necessary to enable it to do so.

61. Facts admitted in civil proceedings
No fact need be proved in any civil proceeding which the parties thereto or their
agents agree to admit at the hearing, or which before the hearing they agree, by
writing under their hands, to admit, or which by any rule of pleading in force at the
time they are deemed to have admitted by their pleadings:
Provided that the court may in its discretion require the facts admitted to be
proved otherwise than by such admissions.