Criminal Appeal No. 201 of 1956
;
Criminal Appeal No. 202 of 1956
Judges
Forbes J,
Rudd J
Judgment date
1 January 1956
Language
English
Type
Judgment
Flynote
Criminal Procedure and Practice-Evidence of extra-judicial statements made by accused-Accused should be asked before evidence is admitted whether he disputes admissibility-If accused disputes admissibility issue of admissibility must be tried before evidence of statement is admitted.
Case summary
The accused were two of three persons charged jointly with robbery with violence. Each was alleged to have made an extra judicial statement to an inspector of police in which he sought to exculpate himself and to throw the blame onto the other two, but in which he admitted knowledge of the incident. The trial magistrate allowed evidence to be given of these statements without first asking the accused whether they intended to object to their admission. The accused subsequently repudiated the statements. The statements constituted a material part of the evidence on which the magistrate relied in finding the accused guilty.
The accused appealed on the grounds that the evidence of the statements should not have been admitted until it had been proved by the prosecution that they were made voluntarily.
Held (29th August 1956):
Before evidence of an extra-judicial statement is admitted, the Court should ask the accused whether he intends to dispute its admissibility. This applies to exculpatory statements as well as to confessions.
If the accused states that he intends to object to the admissibility of the statement, the Court must try the issue of admissibility before deciding whether or not to admit the evidence.
Appeals allowed; convictions and sentences set aside.
Counsel:
Rauf for the appellants.
Charters, Crown Counsel, for the Crown.
Cases cited: Israeli Kamukolse and others v. The Queen (E.A.C.A. Cr. App. Case No. 550 of 1955); Kinyori v. The Queen (Cr. App. No. 551 of 1955); Ibrahim and others v. The Queen (1953) 20 E.A.C.A. 185, 187.
Reported by:
I. R. Thompson, Esq., Resident Magistrate.
