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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 1980 |
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Repudiated confession corroborated by eyewitness and circumstantial evidence supports manslaughter conviction; sentence reduced to five years.
Criminal law – extra‑judicial confession – admissibility and corroboration; identification of deceased by circumstantial evidence; causation and liability as aider/abettor under s.22(c) Penal Code; distinguishing murder from manslaughter; appellate reduction of excessive sentence.
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20 November 1980 |
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Appeal dismissed: witness credibility and physical corroboration upheld; trial omission on corroboration not fatal.
* Criminal law – murder – conviction based on testimony of close relative and community leader – corroboration by physical evidence (axe embedded in victim’s head).
* Evidence – credibility – lie on one point does not automatically nullify the remainder of a witness’s testimony.
* Procedure – trial judge’s failure to direct on corroboration not necessarily fatal where corroboration is clear.
* Criminal procedure – opening address – assessors rely on evidence, not prosecutor’s unproven statements.
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20 November 1980 |
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Appeal dismissed: retracted extra-judicial confession held voluntary and adequately corroborated, conviction upheld.
Criminal law – Extra-judicial confession – voluntariness and admissibility; retracted confession – need for corroboration; trial-within-a-trial; application of TUWAMOI v. UGANDA standard; sufficiency of corroborative evidence to uphold murder conviction.
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20 November 1980 |
| October 1980 |
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20 October 1980 |
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Court upheld murder conviction, rejecting intoxication defence and finding malice aforethought proved.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial and eyewitness evidence – intoxication as defence and whether to put issue to assessors – credibility of witnesses who had consumed liquor – malice aforethought established where attack was unprovoked.
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17 October 1980 |
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Intoxication alone did not vitiate intent or witness credibility; evidence supported malice aforethought and appeal was dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – circumstantial evidence – intoxication as negating intent – assessors’ role; Credibility of witnesses who had consumed alcohol; Proof of malice aforethought.
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17 October 1980 |
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Witness identification corroborated by conduct and admission; assessors' opinion not binding; murder conviction upheld.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Weak night-time identification requiring corroboration – Subsequent conduct and admission as corroboration. * Criminal procedure – Assessors’ opinions – Trial judge may reject assessors’ views after independent evaluation of evidence. * Murder – Conviction upheld where identification corroborated by conduct and confession.
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10 October 1980 |
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A duly authored written confession can sustain a theft-by-servant conviction even if later repudiated.
* Criminal law – Theft by servant – Proof – Unexplained cash shortage and written confession as evidence.
* Evidence – Written confession (Exhibit D) – Authenticity and attribution – Repudiated confession need not always be corroborated.
* Employer discretion – Administrative handling of minor shortages versus criminal prosecution.
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10 October 1980 |
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Trial irregularities were curable; conviction for fraudulently issuing government-travel tickets and mandatory minimum sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Procedural irregularities and omnibus pleas – s.346 Criminal Procedure Code – curable defects; Fraud – issuance of tickets under forged Government Travel Warrants; Minimum Sentences Act 1972 – mandatory minimum sentence upheld.
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3 October 1980 |
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Defective particulars vitiate a conviction; obtaining goods by false pretences, not theft, applies where forged documents induce delivery.
Criminal law – defective charge and particulars – accused’s right to know the charge – conviction quashed where particulars fail to disclose offence; Criminal law – distinction between theft and obtaining goods by false pretences – forged document inducing delivery vitiates passing of property; Criminal procedure – substitution of alternative conviction under section 187(1) Criminal Procedure Code lawful where supported by evidence.
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3 October 1980 |
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Reported
A defective charge invalidated an uttering conviction, while obtaining goods by false pretences was properly upheld where goods were procured by a forged requisition.
Criminal law – defective charge and particulars – conviction for uttering false document quashed where particulars and statutory reference fail to disclose offence; Criminal law – obtaining goods by false pretences v. theft – goods obtained by forged document constitute obtaining by false pretences; Criminal Procedure – s.187(1) CPC permits substituted convictions supported by evidence; Duty of trial courts to inspect and amend defective charges.
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3 October 1980 |
| September 1980 |
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Reported
Construction - Money - Cheque included - S.5 of Penal Code.
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Defective charge - No particulars of false pretences - accused aware of particulars in the course of trial - No prejudice or injustice suffered - Defect curable - S.316 Criminal Procedure Code. |
8 September 1980 |
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Appellant's alibi rejected; conviction for murder upheld on credible eyewitness and medical evidence.
* Criminal law – Murder – Identification and eyewitness evidence – Multiple eyewitnesses saw the accused stab the deceased; credibility preferred over alibi.
* Appellate review – Findings of fact and credibility – Appellate court will not disturb trial court's accepted witness assessments absent clear error.
* Defence – Alibi – Alibi rejected where unsupported and contradicted by consistent independent testimony and medical evidence.
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8 September 1980 |
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Conviction for murder of a child upheld; provocation and insanity defences rejected for lack of evidence.
Criminal law – Murder of child – Extrajudicial confession – Provocation defence rejected – Sexual molestation evidence – Insanity defence unsupported where medical report based on incorrect information – Appeal dismissed.
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4 September 1980 |
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Appeal against murder conviction dismissed where eyewitness evidence, fatal wounds, flight and admission established guilt.
Criminal law – murder – credibility of eyewitness testimony; unsworn statement as afterthought; absence of defendant’s injuries inconsistent with claimed struggle; flight and admission as corroborative evidence.
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3 September 1980 |
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Appellate court upheld murder convictions, finding the stabbings unprovoked and defences of attack or insanity unsustained.
Criminal law – murder – eyewitness credibility – unprovoked and sudden stabbing – rejection of claimed attack/self-defence – insanity defence unsupported – corroboration by independent witness – conviction upheld on appeal.
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2 September 1980 |
| July 1980 |
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Vice‑President may automatically exercise Presidential functions during absence; detention orders without the Public Seal are nullities.
Constitutional law — devolution of Presidential functions — section 8(1) automatic assumption in President’s absence; Preventive Detention Act — validity of detention orders — requirement of President’s hand and Public Seal; judicial review — ouster clause (s.3) strictly construed and not absolute; arrest procedure — requirement to show original detention order to authorise detention.
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23 July 1980 |
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Medical and circumstantial evidence established malice aforethought, so the appellant’s self‑defence claim failed and appeal was dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Causation and malice aforethought – relevance of wound patterns, number of injuries and defendant’s conduct to reject self‑defence claim.
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10 July 1980 |
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Conviction for diversion of employer’s goods upheld; non-production of transport records did not vitiate sufficient eyewitness evidence.
* Criminal law – theft by servant – diversion of employer’s goods to unauthorized recipient. * Evidence – non-accomplice eyewitnesses (turn-boys) corroborating presence and conduct at scene. * Evidence – failure to produce documents – section 122 Law of Evidence Act and discretionary adverse inference. * Credibility – afterthought assertion of reporting to police undermined by lack of cross-examination.
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3 July 1980 |
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Alternative pleading of "stolen or otherwise unlawfully acquired" is permissible; conviction reduced to items proved.
Criminal law – Conveying property suspected to be stolen or unlawfully acquired; Pleading — alternative particulars permitted under s.138 Criminal Procedure Code; Duplicity — charge not fatally duplicitous where statute permits alternatives; Evidence — possession plus unexplained ownership required to sustain conviction; Conviction varied to items proved.
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1 July 1980 |
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Dying declaration corroborated by witnesses established appellant's joint responsibility for murder; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Admissibility and weight of dying declaration – Corroboration by witness testimony – Joint participation in homicide – Sufficiency of evidence on appeal.
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1 July 1980 |
| June 1980 |
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Appeal dismissed where eyewitness identification and a corroborated dying declaration disproved the appellant's alibi.
* Criminal law – Murder – Identification of accused by local witnesses who knew him prior to the incident – reliability of identification evidence.
* Criminal law – Dying declaration – deceased’s statement identifying assailant corroborated by eyewitnesses.
* Criminal procedure – Alibi – rejection where evidence shows presence at scene and is not credible.
* Appeal – Safety of conviction – appellate court upholds trial court findings where evidence is consistent and credible.
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11 June 1980 |
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Conviction upheld: insanity not proved and alleged insult insufficient to amount to provocation.
Criminal law – insanity defence – unsworn statement and witness denial; flight as evidence of awareness; provocation – verbal insult insufficient to justify fatal violence; conviction upheld on appeal.
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11 June 1980 |
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Whether the appellant was insane or provoked — conduct and inadequate provocation upheld the conviction.
Criminal law – Insanity defence – unsworn statements contradicted by witnesses and post-offence flight as evidence of sanity; Provocation – mere insulting words insufficient to justify homicidal reaction; Appeal – conviction upheld where defences disbelieved and conduct indicates awareness of wrongdoing.
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11 June 1980 |
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A 14‑year robbery sentence was unlawful; record returned for resentencing within magistrate’s statutory limits.
Criminal law — Robbery — Minimum Sentences Act — Resident Magistrate’s sentencing power limited to 7 years (or 8 years with confirmation) — Sentence exceeding statutory limit is illegal — Illegal sentence set aside and record remitted for resentencing — Reference to section 5A Criminal Procedure Code.
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10 June 1980 |
| May 1980 |
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Unintentional death of infant during assault on adult amounted to manslaughter, not murder, absent malice aforethought.
* Criminal law – Distinction between murder and manslaughter – malice aforethought – unintended death of infant struck incidentally during assault on another person – substitution of conviction and sentence.
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30 May 1980 |
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An extra-judicial confession to a Justice of the Peace, corroborated by injuries, can sustain a murder conviction.
Criminal law – Murder – Extra-judicial statement to Justice of the Peace – Confession – Admissibility and weight – Corroboration by injuries and circumstances – Accused’s silence at trial.
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27 May 1980 |
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An extra-judicial confession to a Justice of the Peace upheld as sufficient to affirm a murder conviction.
* Criminal law – Murder – Extra-judicial statement to Justice of the Peace – Confession – Admissibility and weight of unchallenged extra-judicial confession corroborated by fatal injuries to the deceased.
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27 May 1980 |
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Court upheld murder convictions, held witness credible, applied age-at-judgment rule and substituted murder conviction and death sentence.
* Evidence – credibility of an eyewitness present at a killing who was threatened – witness not necessarily an accomplice; corroboration not always required if testimony is cogent and reliable. * Criminal liability – aiding and abetting and common intention (Penal Code ss.22(c), 23) can sustain a murder conviction. * Sentencing – age for imposition of mandatory death sentence assessed at date of judgment (Penal Code s.26(2); relevant precedent). * Appeal – substitution of conviction and sentence by appellate court.
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22 May 1980 |
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An extra-judicial confession properly admitted and corroborated by threats and weapon evidence; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Extra-judicial confession – Admissibility after trial-within-a-trial; Corroboration of confession by threats and weapon evidence; Murder conviction – Appeal dismissed.
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21 May 1980 |
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Eyewitness identification can sustain a murder conviction; mere presence and a remark to discard a weapon do not establish aiding and abetting.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Reliability of single eyewitness who knew accused – Sufficiency to convict. * Criminal law – Aiding and abetting (s.22(c) Penal Code) – Mere presence and flight insufficient; active participation or encouragement required. * Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – adequacy when corroborated by credible identification. * Sentencing – Substitution of conviction – cannot substitute murder conviction with accessory after the fact in these circumstances.
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6 May 1980 |
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Reported
Court upheld murder conviction, finding eyewitness identification reliable and medical testimony about wound location untenable.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – visual identification at night – need for careful scrutiny of surrounding circumstances (familiarity, distance, lighting, opportunity to observe). * Criminal law – Evidence – contradictions between post-mortem surgeon and eyewitnesses – court may reject medical testimony if untenable in context. * Criminal law – Alibi – fabricated alibi insufficient to raise reasonable doubt. |
6 May 1980 |
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Extra-judicial confession properly admitted and corroborated by threats and weapon; conviction upheld, appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Murder – Extra-judicial statement (confession) – Admissibility after trial-within-a-trial – Confession as full confession despite implicating others.
* Evidence – Corroboration – Threats, departure to commit act, and possession of weapon corroborating confession.
* Appeal – Sufficiency of evidence – Conviction upheld where confession and independent corroboration are present.
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1 May 1980 |
| April 1980 |
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Concealment and inadequate record‑keeping, together with stock shortages, supported circumstantial proof of theft; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Theft by a public servant/custodian – circumstantial evidence and inferences from conduct and record‑keeping failures.
* Evidence – adequacy of circumstantial proof where stock shortages and concealment of records exist.
* Criminal procedure – curability of prosecutorial irregularity under section 346 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
* Sentencing – requirement to prove value of stolen goods for appropriate sentencing.
* Appeals – inappropriate certification of a point of law where the courts decided facts and drew inferences.
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2 April 1980 |
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Possession, access and silence justified inference that the applicants forged the cheque; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Forgery – Circumstantial evidence – Possession of forged instrument and access to source cheque-book – Silence and absence of explanation – Inference of guilt and principal liability for acts of agent.
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2 April 1980 |
| March 1980 |
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Objective ordinary‑person standard applied; provocation and intoxication rejected and murder conviction with death sentence upheld.
Criminal law — Murder — stabbing causing fatal chest wound; Provocation — statutory definition (s.202) and objective community standard; Intoxication — mere drinking not a defence to murder; Assessors — trial remains with aid of assessors even if no specific opinion on provocation recorded; Transferred malice — not applicable here.
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29 March 1980 |
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Child witness corroboration and common intention upheld; age for death sentence determined at time of conviction, not offence.
* Criminal law – child witness – evidence of child of tender years requires corroboration – corroborative circumstances may include conduct, admissions, early consistent reports and motive.
* Criminal law – common intention – continuation of unlawful assault outside and inside dwelling may establish common intention linking co-accused.
* Sentencing – Penal Code s.26(2) – prohibition on pronouncing death applies to persons who are under eighteen 'is' at time sentence is pronounced/recorded (conviction/sentencing), not necessarily at time of offence.
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29 March 1980 |
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Reported
Evidence - Insanity - Mental stress - Letters imply innocence and punishment relating to the killings - Whether appellant did not know what she was doing was, wrong.
Sentence - Of death - To be passed on one count |
10 March 1980 |
| January 1980 |
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Extrajudicial confession properly admitted and corroborated by witness evidence, supporting the finding that the appellant killed the deceased.
* Criminal law – admissibility of extrajudicial/confessional statements – trial-within-a-trial procedure – when such statements may be admitted as evidence.
* Criminal law – confession corroboration – independent testimony corroborating confession supports conviction for murder.
* Evidence – evaluation of witness testimony regarding threats, weapon, and cause of death.
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1 January 1980 |
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Accidental infant death during an assault on the mother does not establish malice aforethought for murder.
Criminal law – unlawful assault resulting in death – distinction between murder and manslaughter – requirement of malice aforethought or intent to kill/grievous bodily harm – accidental death during assault insufficient for murder conviction.
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1 January 1980 |