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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1985 |
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First appellant’s murder conviction quashed; second appellant’s conviction reduced to manslaughter for insufficient proof of malice.
* Criminal law – Murder v. manslaughter – proof of malice aforethought required for murder; * Common intention – liability of co-participant in mob action; * Evidence – value of dying declaration and admissions in linking accused to fatal act; * Mob violence and attribution of responsibility among multiple participants.
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22 December 1985 |
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Court affirms murder conviction where expert evidence linked violent rape to ruptured bladder and fatal peritonitis.
* Criminal law – identity – sufficiency of eye-witness identification in bright moonlight; dying statement evidence.
* Medico-legal evidence – post-mortem findings (ruptured bladder, chemical peritonitis) and causal link to sexual assault.
* Evidence procedure – improper reception of autopsy report by police; Court's power under Rule 34 to call an expert witness.
* Homicide – where violent sexual assault causes fatal injuries, malice aforethought may be inferred and supports murder conviction.
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3 December 1985 |
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Circumstantial evidence and suspicion were insufficient to prove the appellant set the fatal fire beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – proof beyond reasonable doubt – suspicion insufficient; time lapse between alleged conduct and offence may allow alternative perpetrators; motive must be compelling to support inference of guilt.
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3 December 1985 |
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A husband who divorces his wife for refusing religious conversion is not entitled to refund of bridewealth.
* Family law – bridewealth restitution – entitlement where husband divorces wife for refusing religious conversion – husband not entitled to refund. * Evidence – relevance and burden of producing a formal divorce decree in bridewealth claims. * Factors – duration of marriage and presence of children relevant against restitution of bridewealth.
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3 December 1985 |
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An admission to a supervisor, supported by corroborative evidence, upheld a theft conviction; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – stealing by public servant; admission to supervisory officer; corroboration of admissions; sufficiency of evidence; appellate competence where no point of law raised.
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3 December 1985 |
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A conviction may stand on an uncorroborated accomplice's credible testimony; late denials may be disregarded.
Criminal law – robbery with violence; Accomplice evidence – competency and corroboration; Evidence Act section 142 – conviction may rest on uncorroborated accomplice testimony; Credibility assessment; Afterthought denials and failure to cross-examine; Appeal dismissed.
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2 December 1985 |
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Identification is a factual issue; a second appeal is incompetent where no point of law arises.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Whether identification was properly established by witnesses who knew accused – Identification is a question of fact. * Appeal procedure – Second appeal – Scope limited where no question of law arises – Appeal incompetent if only factual issues are raised.
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2 December 1985 |
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An appeal on identification alone is incompetent where both lower courts have accepted the identification as a factual finding.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – identification is a question of fact; Appellate procedure – second appeal – where both trial and first appellate courts accept factual findings (identification), no point of law arises for determination by the Court of Appeal.
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2 December 1985 |
| November 1985 |
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Appellate court upheld robbery conviction, finding eyewitness identification credible and appeal without merit.
* Criminal law – robbery with violence – identification evidence – credibility and sufficiency of eyewitness identification – appellate review of factual findings.
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26 November 1985 |
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An uncorroborated dying declaration made under poor identification conditions cannot safely sustain a murder conviction.
* Criminal law – Dying declaration – Reliability and corroboration required where identification circumstances are poor; night-time/misidentification and intoxication may render a dying declaration unsafe.
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22 November 1985 |
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Appellate court reduced a manifestly excessive 10-year sentence to 6 years because mitigating factors were overlooked.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Manifestly excessive sentence – Appellate interference where trial judge failed to consider mitigating factors including youth, guilty plea, lack of previous convictions and lengthy pre-trial custody.
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22 November 1985 |
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Omission in charge and PF3 irregularity were curable under section 346; conviction reduced to actual bodily harm.
Criminal law – defective charge (omission of "unlawfully") – curable under s.346 Criminal Procedure Code; PF3/medical report – s.213(3) failure to inform accused – curable where other evidence exists; identification evidence – question of fact and acceptable; injuries – grievous harm (s.225) versus actual bodily harm (s.241).
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22 November 1985 |
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Omission of "unlawfully" and a PF.3 procedural lapse were curable; conviction reduced to actual bodily harm and appeal dismissed.
Criminal procedure — defective charge: omission of "unlawfully" under s.225 — curability under s.346 CPC; Criminal procedure — PF.3 medical report — s.213(3) right to summon author — irregularity curable/immaterial; Evidence — identification sufficiency; Substantive offence — grievous harm (s.225) v actual bodily harm (s.241) — substitution of conviction.
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22 November 1985 |
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Appellate court affirms murder conviction, finding eyewitness evidence credible and the appellant’s alternative account implausible.
* Criminal law – Murder – Conviction based on eyewitness identification and circumstantial facts – Trial judge’s credibility findings and appellate review.
* Evidence – Afterthought defence – Failure to put alternative version to prosecution witnesses undermines credibility.
* Evidence – Accused’s silence or claimed numbness when confronted – credibility and relevance to guilt.
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21 November 1985 |
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A s168 "guilty but insane" finding requires evidence of commission and cannot replace a proper trial.
Criminal procedure – Section 168 Criminal Procedure Code – Special finding that accused "did the act charged but by reason of insanity is not guilty" – Requires evidence that accused committed the act; such finding is in substance a conviction and cannot be made without trial or evidence on commission of the offence.
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20 November 1985 |
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A special finding of 'guilty but insane' requires evidence of the charged act and cannot replace a trial.
Criminal Procedure Code s.168 – special finding that accused 'did the act but was insane' – requires evidence of commission of the charged act – such finding is in substance a conviction – invalid when made without trial or evidentiary hearing; psychiatric reports alone insufficient.
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20 November 1985 |
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Appellate court upheld a six-year manslaughter sentence, finding it not manifestly excessive.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Sentencing discretion – Whether six-year term was manifestly excessive – Aggravating factor: use of a knife while victim unarmed – Mitigating factors: provocation, no previous convictions, lengthy pre-trial custody – Appellate restraint in interfering with trial judge’s sentencing discretion.
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20 November 1985 |
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A court may not find an accused "did the act but was insane" absent evidence proving commission of the offence.
Criminal law — Insanity findings — Special finding that accused "did the act but was insane" requires evidence of commission; such a finding is in substance a conviction and cannot be made without a trial.
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20 November 1985 |
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Appeal against murder convictions dismissed: identification, intent and common intention properly established despite alcohol consumption.
Criminal law – Murder – identification by eyewitnesses; intoxication and capacity to form intent; common intention to commit fatal assault and dispose of body; post‑mortem evidence of blunt‑force trauma; rejection of alibi.
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19 November 1985 |
| May 1985 |
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Second appeal incompetent where it raises only factual identification issues; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Appeal – Second appeal limited to questions of law – Identification evidence – Appeals raising only factual disputes are incompetent in second appeal.
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13 May 1985 |
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Court upheld murder conviction based on reliable night identification by familiar witnesses despite a faulty summing-up.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Night-time identification by familiar witnesses aided by torchlight – Reliability and sufficiency to support conviction.
* Evidence – Family witnesses – Relationship to victim does not automatically render testimony unreliable where trial judge accepts it.
* Criminal procedure – Summing-up to assessors – Omission to state burden of proof is unsatisfactory but does not necessarily vitiate a safe conviction.
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13 May 1985 |
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Appeal struck out where the record was filed beyond the 60-day limit under Rule 83 and no extension was obtained.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Time limits for filing record of appeal — Rule 83 Court of Appeal Rules — Record filed more than 60 days after notice of appeal — No extension sought or granted — Appeal struck out.
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13 May 1985 |
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Appeal struck out where the record of appeal was filed after the prescribed period and no extension was obtained.
Civil procedure – Appeals – time for filing record of appeal – Rule 83 compliance – no extension of time filed – appeal struck out as filed out of time; service/attendance affected by appellant leaving jurisdiction (affidavit of process server).
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13 May 1985 |
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Appeal dismissed: eyewitness and post‑mortem evidence disproved appellant's self‑defence and manslaughter claims.
Criminal law – murder versus manslaughter – evaluation of eyewitness and medical (post‑mortem) evidence – self‑defence – appellate review of trial court findings.
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10 May 1985 |
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Conviction for cattle theft restored where forged sale receipt and inconsistent purchase accounts discredited the respondent’s defence.
* Criminal law – Theft – Cattle theft – Identification of stolen animals and production of sale receipt; forgery of receipt undermines defence of lawful purchase. * Evidence – Credibility – Inconsistent statements by accused regarding place of purchase diminish defence. * Appeal – Appellate review – High Court erred in overturning conviction where trial court’s findings on forgery and inconsistencies were justified.
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9 May 1985 |
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Whether a regional finance officer was lawfully empowered to compound under the Stamp Duty Act — held: they were not.
Stamp Duty Act s.4 – appointment of stamp duty officers by Gazette – G.N. 122 of 1974 appointed "internal revenue officers"; scope of "internal revenue officer" vs regional finance officer; delegation of powers by Principal Secretary; authority to compound and impose fines; validity of fines imposed by officers lacking statutory appointment.
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7 May 1985 |
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Appeal allowed: unchallenged surrender-confession established identity; acquittal substituted by murder conviction and death sentence.
* Criminal law — Identification evidence and mistaken identity — effect of unchallenged confession to police on identity issue.
* Criminal procedure — Appellate review where trial judge disregards parts of prosecution evidence but fails to consider other unchallenged evidence.
* Murder — Wounds from sharp instrument establishing intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.
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6 May 1985 |
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Appellant’s gross negligence in overloading a prison ferry caused drownings; convictions maintained only for 12 properly identified victims.
Criminal law – Manslaughter by gross negligence – Duty of care of a custodian – Disobedience of instructions and overloading as major cause of capsizing – Requirement of proper identification of victims to sustain individual counts.
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6 May 1985 |
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Appellant’s overloading of a prison transport boat constituted manslaughter; some convictions quashed for insufficient identification.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Duty of care of prison officer – Overloading of prison transport boat – Causation – Credibility of witnesses – Sufficiency of identification of deceased for conviction.
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6 May 1985 |
| January 1985 |
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Customary Law-Itsstatus vis-a-vis otherlaw - Section 9 Judicature andApplication ofLaws Ordinance, Cap. 453. Customary Law - Kuria customary laws - Whether widow, sole heir D ofher deceased husband’s estate, is liable to pay the debts ofher late husband. Customary Law - Kuria customary law - Liability ofa widow, sole heir, to refund bride price received by her deceased husband - Whether such liability extends beyond the assets which she E actually received in the estate ofher deceased husband. |
1 January 1985 |