Kama jaji angekuwa ameisoma kesi mapema, hukumu isingekuwa ndefu sana.

This is a past unreal conditional, the same basic idea as the English third conditional. It describes something that did not happen in the past and imagines a different result:

Kama jaji angekuwa ameisoma kesi mapema, hukumu isingekuwa ndefu sana.

The speaker is implying that the judge did not read the case earlier, and because of that, the judgment ended up being longer.

Here, kama means if. It introduces the condition.

A common thing for learners to notice is that kama can also mean like or as in other sentences, but in this sentence its role is clearly conditional: if.

Even though jaji does not show a typical noun-class prefix on the noun itself, it refers to a person, so in the singular it takes class 1 agreement.

That is why the verb begins with a-, the subject marker for he/she:

• a-nge-kuwa = he/she would have been

So jaji angekuwa... means the judge would have... or, in this conditional context, if the judge had...

A useful breakdown is:

• a- = he/she
• -nge- = conditional
• kuwa = be

So angekuwa literally looks like he/she would be / would have been.

Then:

• a- = he/she
• -me- = perfect
• -i- = it, referring to kesi
• soma = read / study

So ameisoma = he/she has read it.

Together, angekuwa ameisoma expresses a hypothetical completed past action: had read it.

Because the sentence is talking about a completed action before another past result. The form ngekuwa + perfect verb is a very common way to make that meaning clear.

• angesoma can sometimes mean would read or would have read, depending on context.
• angekuwa ameisoma more clearly means had already read it in this hypothetical past situation.

So this form helps show that the reading of the case should have happened earlier, before the judgment.

It is the object marker, and it refers to kesi.

So:

• ameisoma = he/she has read it
• the it = kesi = the case

This is normal Swahili. Even when the object noun is stated explicitly, Swahili often still uses an object marker, especially when the object is specific or already understood.

Because in Swahili, object markers are not only used when the noun is omitted. They are also often used when the object is definite, specific, or topical.

So ameisoma kesi and ameisoma kesi with the object marker built in are natural patterns, and here the marker helps reinforce that the judge read that particular case.

For a learner, the important point is that Swahili often says the equivalent of read it, the case.

It breaks down like this:

• i- = subject marker for hukumu
• -singe- = negative conditional
• kuwa = be

So isingekuwa means it would not have been.

If it were positive, it would be:

• ingekuwa = it would have been

Because the sentence is saying the judgment would not have been so long, the negative form is used.

Because hukumu belongs to the class 9/10 pattern, and in the singular it takes i- agreement.

So:

• hukumu isingekuwa... = the judgment would not have been...

This is different from jaji, which takes human agreement.

Because adjectives in Swahili agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

The adjective stem is -refu = long / tall.

With hukumu (class 9), the adjective becomes ndefu.

Compare:

• mtu mrefu = a tall person
• hukumu ndefu = a long judgment

So the change from -refu to ndefu is just noun-class agreement.

In legal contexts, hukumu can mean judgment, ruling, verdict, or sometimes sentence, depending on context.

In this sentence, because it is described as ndefu = long, the most natural interpretation is judgment or ruling, especially the written or spoken decision. English sentence is possible in some contexts, but judgment fits better here.

Mapema means early, earlier, or in advance.

In this sentence, the natural sense is earlier or ahead of time:

• ameisoma kesi mapema = read the case earlier / in advance

It does not have to mean early in the day. It means the reading should have happened sooner.

Yes. Sana very often means very, but in English translation it can come out as so depending on the sentence.

So:

• ndefu sana = very long
• haikuwa ndefu sana or isingekuwa ndefu sana can naturally become not very long or not so long

In this sentence, not so long sounds especially natural in English.

Yes. You can also put the main clause first:

Hukumu isingekuwa ndefu sana kama jaji angekuwa ameisoma kesi mapema.

The meaning stays the same. Putting the kama clause first is very common, especially when setting up the condition before giving the result.