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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1989 |
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An intoxicated police officer’s negligent entrustment of his firearm justified conviction and a 10-year sentence.
* Criminal law – Causing loss to a specified authority – Negligence by a police officer – Intoxication and entrustment of service firearm – Evidence and credibility – Sentence upheld.
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18 December 1989 |
| November 1989 |
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The applicant's failure to reduce speed and keep distance in wet conditions constituted dangerous driving causing death.
Road traffic — Causing death by dangerous driving — Standard of care assessed by attendant circumstances — Wet/slippery road and slope — Duty to maintain safe distance and reduce speed — Size and load of vehicle increases obligation.
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7 November 1989 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction and death sentence, rejecting provocation due to insufficient credible evidence.
* Criminal law – Murder – Malice aforethought – Whether evidence established deliberate ambush and malice aforethought. * Criminal law – Partial defence – Provocation – Whether alleged seduction of wife constituted sufficient provocation to reduce murder to manslaughter. * Evidence – Credibility – Assessment of appellant’s account versus prosecution witness testimony.
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7 November 1989 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction after finding the appellant's confession voluntary and malice aforethought proven.
Criminal law – Murder – Proof of malice aforethought – Confession – Voluntariness and reliability of pre-trial statements – Appeal against conviction and sentence.
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7 November 1989 |
| October 1989 |
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No point of law of public importance shown; leave to appeal dismissed with costs.
* Land law – Right of Occupancy (year-to-year) – expiry, revocation under section 10 of the Land Ordinance – reallocation. * Contract/administrative acts – variation of grant by altering offer/plot number – requirement (or not) of fresh offer and acceptance. * Leave to appeal – requirement of points of law of general public importance – concurrent findings of fact. * Procedural irregularity in reallocation/allocation of land (alteration of plot number).
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31 October 1989 |
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Reported
An appellate court’s prior final decision on jurisdiction bars relitigation of that issue in later proceedings; ground struck off.
* Civil procedure – res judicata – issue preclusion where Court of Appeal previously decided jurisdiction in same cause between same parties; subsequent trial judge cannot reopen the issue. * Preliminary objection – issue of jurisdiction pleaded but previously finally determined – objection upheld. * Appellate procedure – convening full bench unnecessary where basis (jurisdiction) already adjudicated.
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30 October 1989 |
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Termination was wrongful: extensions and lack of required 14‑day registered‑post default notice rendered employer’s termination invalid.
Contract law – wrongful termination; extensions of time – effect and attribution to employer; Clause 32 General Conditions – default plus 14‑day registered‑post notice required; retrospective termination invalid; notice of default distinct from extension of time; contractor’s reasonable diligence in face of material shortages and price escalation.
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19 October 1989 |
| September 1989 |
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The appellant's murder conviction quashed for insufficient circumstantial and uncorroborated scientific evidence.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence; expert evidence – reliance on written chemist’s report without viva voce evidence; postmortem delay; omission to rescue – probative value; requirement to prove causation and malice aforethought beyond reasonable doubt.
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14 September 1989 |
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Provocation reduced murder conviction to manslaughter; death sentence quashed and two-year imprisonment imposed.
Criminal law – murder versus manslaughter – provocation/transport of passion – insufficiency of evidence of malice aforethought – substitution of conviction and sentence.
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14 September 1989 |
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Provocation and loss of self-control reduced a killing from murder to manslaughter; death sentence substituted with two years' imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder v manslaughter – Requirement of malice aforethought – Provocation and loss of self-control – Admitted extra‑judicial statement under s192 Criminal Procedure Act – Sentence substitution and reduction.
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14 September 1989 |
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Notice of appeal alone does not excuse applying for the record; failure to apply within the statutory period renders the appeal time‑barred.
* Criminal procedure – Notice of appeal (s.37(a)) – Whether notice alone excuses application for record; * Criminal procedure – Time limits for lodging appeals (para. (b)) – requirement to apply for copies within statutory period; * Procedural law – Extension of time – necessity of application for extension when delay occurs.
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14 September 1989 |
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Court overturns acquittal and enters special verdict of 'Guilty But Insane' for murder due to evidence of insanity.
Criminal law – Murder – Appeal against acquittal – Evidence of killing – Legal insanity – Special verdict of 'Guilty But Insane' under s.219 Criminal Procedure Act – Post-offence behaviour as evidence of insanity.
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14 September 1989 |
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The Economic Crimes Court lacked jurisdiction over possession of government trophies; the trial was a nullity and proceedings were set aside.
Jurisdiction — Economic Crimes Court — Whether possession of government trophies falls within offences under the Economic and Organized Crime Control Act No. 13 of 1984 — Trial in a court lacking jurisdiction is a nullity — Remedy and discretion of Director of Public Prosecutions regarding retrial.
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14 September 1989 |
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A sole-custody forged document permits inferring the accused’s forgery; misframed s.346 charges were quashed, theft convictions upheld.
* Criminal law – Forgery – inference of guilt where allegedly forged documents are in sole custody of accused – handwriting expert not necessary. * Criminal law – Interpretation of s.346 Penal Code – making document without authority applies where accused acts in name/on account of another, not where accused had authority as storekeeper. * Criminal procedure – Misframing of charges – convictions under wrong counts must be quashed if substitution of alternative verdicts is not permitted. * Theft – concurrent factual findings upholding convictions where recipients did not receive goods.
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14 September 1989 |
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Sole custody of forged documents obviates necessity for handwriting expert; misframed counts properly quashed, other convictions upheld.
* Criminal law – Forgery – Inference of guilt where forged documents are in accused's sole custody – handwriting expert not always necessary. * Criminal law – Offence differentiation – Making document without authority (s.346 Penal Code) vs. forgery where an authorised officer falsifies records. * Criminal procedure – Misframed charges – court cannot substitute alternative verdicts under sections 300–310 to convict for a different offence; convictions on wrongly charged counts must be quashed. * Appeal – concurrent findings of fact supported by strong evidence will not be disturbed.
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14 September 1989 |
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Appellant's retracted confession, corroborated by independent evidence, upheld as sufficient to sustain a murder conviction.
* Criminal law – Murder – Extra-judicial confession – admissibility and weight of retracted statement – compulsion alleged and rejected. * Corroboration – witness evidence and recovery of body corroborating confession. * Co-accused acquittal – effect on primary accused's conviction.
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14 September 1989 |
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Appellate court affirmed murder conviction, finding the appellant's admissions corroborated and guilt proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder – Reliance on alleged extra‑judicial confession corroborated by independent facts; appellate review of trial judge’s credibility findings; sufficiency of evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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14 September 1989 |
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Appeal dismissed; murder conviction and death sentence affirmed due to overwhelming evidence of intent.
Criminal law – Murder – proof of intention – credibility of alibi and provocation defences – dying declaration superfluous where eyewitness evidence is overwhelming – appeal dismissed.
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14 September 1989 |
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Acquittal reversed; evidence established killing and insanity — correct verdict: guilty but insane.
Criminal law — Homicide — Evidence supporting commission of killing — Insanity plea — Effect of consumption of intoxicating/concocted substance and pre- and post-offence behaviour — Application of section 219(2) Criminal Procedure Act: "guilty but insane."
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14 September 1989 |
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Economic Crimes Court lacked jurisdiction to try mere unlawful possession of Government trophy at the material time; conviction quashed.
Criminal law — Jurisdiction — Economic Crimes Court — Whether unlawful possession of Government trophy was a scheduled economic offence at the material time — Wildlife Conservation Act 1974; Economic and Organized Crime Control Act 1984; Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1989 — Conviction quashed for lack of jurisdiction.
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14 September 1989 |
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Economic Crimes Court lacked jurisdiction to try appellant for unlawful possession of government trophy before the offence was scheduled.
* Criminal law – Jurisdiction – Economic Crimes Court – Whether unlawful possession of government trophy was an economic offence for purposes of jurisdiction under the Economic and Organized Crime Act at the material time. * Statutory interpretation – Scheduling of offences – effect of later amendments on prior jurisdictional assessments. * Remedy – Proceedings and sentence void for want of jurisdiction; order for re‑charge in competent court.
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14 September 1989 |
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Economic Crimes Court lacked jurisdiction to try unlawful possession of government trophy as it was not then a scheduled offence.
* Criminal law – jurisdiction – Economic and Organized Crime Control Act, 1984 – whether unlawful possession of government trophy was a scheduled offence at the material time; * Jurisdictional defect – conviction and sentence quashed; * Legislative amendment – Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 1989 noted but not retrospective.
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14 September 1989 |
| August 1989 |
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Reported
Court of Appeal Rules - Application for stay of execution before notice of appeal is filed - Limitation period for filing the application - Interlocutory application only entertained relating to legal action or step pending in court - Definition of interlocutory proceeding. |
12 August 1989 |
| July 1989 |
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Court reduced an excessive preparation fee, disallowed a percentage uplift, and taxed the bill at Shs.16,500/=.
Costs — Taxation of bill of costs — Reasonableness of preparation fee — Disallowance of unsupported percentage uplift — Admissibility and reasonableness of transport disbursements — Court of Appeal Rules (Rule 9(4)) and Advocates’ Remuneration rules considered.
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31 July 1989 |
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Self‑defence rejected; credible eyewitness evidence established murder and appeal was dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder v. manslaughter – Self‑defence – Evaluation of eyewitness credibility – Motive and provocation in homicide cases.
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19 July 1989 |
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Medical evidence rejected suicide but circumstantial proof (and absence of motive) was insufficient to convict the applicant.
* Criminal law – Homicide – Post-mortem and medical jurisprudence – When injuries inconsistent with self-infliction establish death by another person. * Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Requirement to exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence; circumstantial facts must be solidly proved. * Criminal law – Role of motive – Absence of motive relevant where accused had direct interest in victim's survival.
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19 July 1989 |
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Unprovoked concerted attack causing fatal wounds establishes malice aforethought; appeal against murder conviction dismissed.
* Criminal law – murder – malice aforethought – intention inferred from nature of wounds causing death.
* Criminal law – joint enterprise – concerted unprovoked attack renders all participants liable for resultant death.
* Evidence – credibility of eyewitnesses and consistency with injuries and post‑mortem findings.
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19 July 1989 |
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Provocation in a public market reduced the appellant’s offence from murder to manslaughter, yielding a three-year sentence.
Criminal law – Murder v. Manslaughter – Provocation and loss of self-control – Appellate substitution of conviction – Credibility of accused’s denial – Credit for time spent in custody.
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13 July 1989 |
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A public auction sale will not be set aside absent proven material irregularity or fraud affecting the bidder's interests.
Property sale by court broker – public auction – setting aside sale for material irregularity or fraud – burden to prove irregularity – credibility of court broker’s affidavit – prior private sale declared void does not vitiate subsequent proper public auction – unproven renovation expenses not a basis for setting aside sale.
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13 July 1989 |
| June 1989 |
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Reported
Land Law - Survey - Procedure - Effect of failure to follow procedure. |
21 June 1989 |
| May 1989 |
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Eye-witness identification and voluntary extra-judicial confessions, corroborated by physical evidence, upheld the applicants' murder convictions.
Criminal law – murder – sufficiency of evidence – eyewitness identification corroborated by physical evidence and confessions; admissibility of extra-judicial statements to Justices of the Peace – voluntariness – absence of trial-within-a-trial objection; joint enterprise and liability of co-accused; sentencing where multiple counts – convict on each count, sentence on one.
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23 May 1989 |
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Court upheld manslaughter convictions under common intention; cautioned on accomplice and repudiated confession corroboration, and found sentences excessive.
* Criminal law – Homicide – Manslaughter by a group who detained and ill-treated a suspect found dead next morning. * Evidence – Accomplice testimony: admissible but requires caution and corroboration. * Evidence – Repudiated confession: may be reliable and corroborative in exceptional cases but not automatically so. * Criminal procedure – Alibi: failure to comply with section 194 notice and particulars justifies rejecting alibi. * Criminal law – Common intention (s.23 Penal Code) – conviction of all participants justified on combined evidence.
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22 May 1989 |
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Possession of ballistically‑linked firearm shortly after killing can corroborate identity; coerced confessions are unreliable.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – need for corroboration where arrest delayed despite prior acquaintance between witness and accused. * Admissibility/reliability of extra‑judicial statements – alleged torture undermines value of confessions. * Circumstantial evidence – possession of ballistically‑linked firearm shortly after killing may corroborate identity and support inference of guilt. * Murder – intent inferred from nature of injuries and weapon used; mandatory death sentence applied.
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22 May 1989 |
| April 1989 |
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Court varied High Court bail, requiring valuation and adequate security to prevent respondent absconding.
* Bail — statutory framework for High Court bail under EOCC Act s.29 and Criminal Procedure Act s.148(6),(7); * Discretionary nature of cash-deposit requirement under s.148(7) — not mandatory; * Sufficiency and valuation of sureties' immovable property — requirement to ensure adequate security to prevent absconding; * Remand pending satisfaction and verification of amended bail conditions.
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18 April 1989 |
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Court held cash deposit discretionary and increased surety and reporting conditions, remanding respondent until adequate sureties provided.
Bail — Economic and Organized Crime Control Act s.29 and Criminal Procedure Act s.148(6),(7) — cash deposit for high-value property offences discretionary — adequacy of sureties’ immovable property — Court of Appeal varying bail conditions and ordering remand until satisfactory sureties provided.
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18 April 1989 |
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Application to file appeal out of time dismissed for inordinate delay; arguable statutory point insufficient to override respondent’s liberty.
* Criminal procedure – application for leave to file appeal out of time – inordinate delay; justification required. * Statutory interpretation – section 56(1) Economic Crimes Act – whether conversion of Penal Code offence affects trial jurisdiction. * Balancing of interests – prejudice to respondent’s liberty versus public interest in correcting legal errors.
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6 April 1989 |
| March 1989 |
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Acquittal upheld where prosecution failed to prove culpable negligence and expert ballistic opinion did not establish accused's knowledge of a loaded chamber.
* Criminal law – Manslaughter – requirement to prove culpable negligence beyond reasonable doubt. * Evidence – ballistic expert opinion – weight and limits of specialist evidence vis-à-vis lay knowledge. * Evidence – credibility findings of trial judge and appellate restraint in overturning them. * Firearms – state of readiness of pistol and implications for mens rea.
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31 March 1989 |
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Acquittal upheld: prosecution failed to prove culpable negligence in a fatal accidental firearm discharge.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – culpable negligence – accidental firearm discharge – evaluation of ballistic expert evidence – credibility findings – standard of proof on appeal.
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31 March 1989 |
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Belief that the victim practised witchcraft did not negate malice; murder conviction and death sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Murder – Provocation – Whether remark by deceased constituted provocation – Belief in witchcraft as motive – Extra‑judicial statement corroboration – Sufficiency of evidence – Appeal dismissed.
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31 March 1989 |
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Appeal dismissed: credible evidence and severe injuries disproved appellant's self‑defence claim and supported murder conviction.
Criminal law – Murder: fatal injuries and skull base fracture as evidence of malice aforethought; Self‑defence: burden and absence of supporting evidence; Evidence: credibility of eyewitness in the house; Adultery: no legal excuse for assault or killing.
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31 March 1989 |
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Severe head injuries and eyewitness account disproved self‑defence; murder conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Murder – self‑defence claim – intoxicated victim – severity of head injuries as evidence of malice aforethought – reliance on eyewitness occupant testimony.
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31 March 1989 |
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A police constable’s prolonged, severe beating of a prisoner caused fatal injuries and demonstrated malice aforethought; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Murder – Fatal beating of remand prisoner in police custody – Identification evidence by eyewitnesses and remandees – Post-mortem evidence of basal skull fracture and intracranial haemorrhage establishing causation and malice aforethought.
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31 March 1989 |
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Court upheld murder conviction of the applicant police constable based on eyewitness identification and fatal injuries.
Criminal law – Murder – Identification evidence – eyewitness testimony and identification parade – reliability of remandees’ statements – post-mortem evidence indicating basal skull fracture and intracranial haemorrhage – malice aforethought inferred from severe beating.
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31 March 1989 |
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Economic Crimes Court lacked jurisdiction: mere possession of government trophies is not an economic offence and DPP consent was required.
* Economic Crimes Act – jurisdiction – Court’s power limited to offences in First Schedule – paragraph 16(b) criminalises dealing in government trophies, not mere possession.
* Criminal procedure – requirement of consent – section 26(1) DPP’s express and recorded consent necessary to commence prosecution for economic offences.
* Jurisdictional defect – trial without statutory jurisdiction is a nullity – conviction set aside and retrial ordered.
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31 March 1989 |
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Economic Crimes Court lacked jurisdiction: mere possession is not an economic offence and DPP’s express consent was absent.
* Criminal law – Economic and Organized Crime Control Act – scope of paragraph 16(b) (First Schedule) – unlawful dealing in Government trophies v. mere possession.
* Jurisdiction – Economic Crimes Court’s jurisdiction limited to offences prescribed in First Schedule (s.56(1)).
* Prosecution – requirement of Director of Public Prosecutions’ express consent to commence prosecution for economic offences (s.26(1)).
* Procedural consequence – trial conducted without jurisdiction or required consent is a nullity; conviction set aside; retrial ordered.
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31 March 1989 |
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Appeal dismissed where prosecution failed to prove unlawful act or mens rea in fatal accidental firearm discharge.
Criminal law – manslaughter/culpable negligence – accidental firearm discharge – assessment of ballistic expert evidence – credibility findings and proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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31 March 1989 |
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Court substituted conviction for unlawful dealing and increased sentence to twelve years for transport of elephant tusks.
* Criminal law – Wildlife offences – Unlawful possession vs unlawful dealing in Government trophies (elephant tusks) – alternative conviction on stronger facts; sentencing limits and substitution of conviction and increased sentence. * Abuse of public office as aggravating factor in sentencing.
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23 March 1989 |
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Whether facts supported convicting an MP for unlawful dealing in elephant trophies and imposing a harsher sentence for abuse of public office.
* Economic Crimes – Government trophies – Unlawful Possession v Unlawful Dealing – alternative counts and substitution of conviction. * Use of official/state vehicle and abuse of public office as aggravating factors. * Credibility of accused’s explanation and reliance on circumstantial and witness evidence to establish dealing. * Sentencing — appellate increase where trial court mischaracterised offence and where greater offence proved.
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23 March 1989 |
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Conviction reduced to manslaughter where treating prosecution witnesses as hostile improperly discarded evidence of provocation.
Criminal law – Murder vs. manslaughter; improper treatment of prosecution witnesses as hostile; effect of expunging testimony; provocation and overreaction as basis for reducing offence.
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23 March 1989 |
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Wrongful characterisation of prosecution witnesses as hostile can reduce an appellant’s murder conviction to manslaughter.
Criminal law – murder v. manslaughter – treatment of prosecution witnesses as hostile – adverse statements do not automatically render witness hostile – incorrect expunging of evidence may render a conviction unsafe.
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23 March 1989 |