Evidence Law: Examination of witnesses

Section 144-146 of the Kenya Evidence Act

EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES
144. Court to decide as to the admissibility of evidence
(1) When either party proposes to give evidence of any fact, the court may ask
the party proposing to give the evidence in what manner the alleged fact, if proved,
would be admissible.
(2) The court shall admit the evidence of any fact if it thinks that the fact, if
proved, would be admissible and not otherwise.
(3) If the fact proposed to be proved is one of which evidence is admissible
only upon proof of some other fact, such last mentioned fact must be proved before
evidence is given of the fact first mentioned, unless the party undertakes to give
proof of such fact and the court is satisfied with such undertaking.
(4) If the admissibility of one alleged fact depends upon another alleged fact
being first proved, the court may, in its discretion, either permit evidence of the first
fact to be given before the second fact is proved, or require evidence to be given
of the second fact before evidence is given of the first fact.
145. Type of examination of witnesses
(1) The examination of a witness by the party who calls him shall be called his
examination-in-chief.
(2) The examination of a witness by the adverse party shall be called his cross-
examination.
(3) Where a witness has been cross-examined and is then examined by the
party who called him, such examination shall be called his re-examination.
146. Order and direction of examinations
(1) Witnesses shall first be examined-in-chief, then, if the adverse party so
desires, cross-examined, then, if the party calling them so desires, re-examined.
(2) Subject to the following provisions of this Act, the examination-in-chief and
cross-examination must relate to relevant facts, but the cross-examination need
not be confined to the facts to which the witness testified in his examination-in-chief.
(3) The re-examination shall be directed to the explanation of matters referred
to in cross-examination; and, if new matter is, by permission of the court, introduced
in re-examination, the adverse party may further cross-examine upon that matter.
(4) The court may in all cases permit a witness to be recalled either for further
examination-in-chief or for further cross-examination, and if it does so, the parties
have the right of further cross-examination and re-examination respectively.