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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1981 |
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Appeal against robbery conviction based on accomplice's evidence dismissed; conviction and 7½-year sentence affirmed.
* Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Conviction founded on evidence of a co-accused who pleaded guilty – Credibility of accomplice witness – Appellate review of credibility findings.
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23 December 1981 |
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Delay by the lower court justified extension of time to appeal, despite inability to assess the appeal's prospects.
Extension of time to appeal; delay caused by lower court's failure to furnish judgment; requirement that intended appeal shows prospects of success; discretion where record is unavailable.
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18 December 1981 |
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Identification evidence sufficient and appellants' defence rights preserved; appeal dismissed despite facts suggesting attempted robbery.
* Criminal law – identification evidence – prior acquaintance, torch illumination and proximity during assault held sufficient for positive identification.
* Criminal procedure – right to defend – accused who give sworn statements and raise alibi cannot successfully claim denial of defence.
* Substantive charge – facts pointing to attempted robbery; prosecutor framed lesser charges.
* Sentencing – minimum statutory sentence under the Minimum Sentences Act upheld; trial court's lenient wound sentence not disturbed.
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15 December 1981 |
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Appeal dismissed: trial court's acceptance of eyewitness credibility and conviction for unlawful wounding upheld; sentence left intact.
* Criminal law – Unlawful wounding – Evidence and credibility of complainant and eyewitnesses – appellate review of factual findings; * Sentencing – relation between proven offence (unlawful wounding) and medical classification of grievous harm; appellate discretion to vary sentence where sentence already served.
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15 December 1981 |
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Conviction for cattle theft quashed where evidence was limited, hearsay-based and identification was unreliable.
Criminal law - Sufficiency of evidence for conviction - Reliance on co-accused's out-of-court statements; Identification of exhibits; Hearsay and acquitted co-accused.
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8 December 1981 |
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Liability for crop destruction upheld; expert valuation admissible and general damages reduced to Shs. 4,000/=.
Tort – Animals straying – Liability for crop destruction; valuation of destroyed crops by agricultural expert admissible; appellate re-assessment of quantum where crop proportions not proved; no special damages awarded.
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8 December 1981 |
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Conviction for theft quashed where accounting errors and missing documentary evidence undermined prosecution's case.
Criminal law – stealing by servant – evidentiary sufficiency of accounting evidence – failure to tender supporting books – credibility and consistency of prosecution witnesses – arithmetic errors leading to unsafe conviction.
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8 December 1981 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure – Alternative verdicts – Verdicts alternative to burglary – Whether neglect of duty by a watchman is a kindred offence to housebreaking – Criminal Procedure Code s. 186 [now s. 305 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1985]. |
5 December 1981 |
| November 1981 |
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Court upheld magistrate's forfeiture discretion and modest sentence under GN 80; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Forfeiture – Discretion under GN 80 of 1976 (Control of Transport) – must be exercised judicially; lawful ownership of goods does not automatically bar forfeiture where transporting for sale and lack of licence are relevant factors.
* Sentencing – Sentence not manifestly excessive where imposed penalty is modest compared to statutory maximum (Shs.5,000 and/or 12 months).
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25 November 1981 |
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Forfeiture under GN 80 s.7 is a judicial discretion and the fine imposed was not excessive.
Forfeiture — GN 80 of 1976 s.7 — discretionary power requiring judicial exercise; transporting specified agricultural products for sale without licence; sentence within statutory limits not excessive.
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25 November 1981 |
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Appellate court found prosecution evidence inadequate and trial magistrate’s reasoning speculative, undermining the conviction for cattle theft.
* Criminal law – theft of cattle – adequacy of evidence and proof beyond reasonable doubt – credibility of witnesses acting on assumption versus direct observation; impropriety of trial court speculation. * Criminal procedure – appellate review – trial magistrate must avoid speculative reasoning and must assess evidence with judicial objectivity. * Delay in reporting alleged offences – relevance and proper treatment in credibility assessment.
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25 November 1981 |
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The appellant's three-year sentence for causing death by dangerous driving was not excessive given his high degree of negligence.
Road Traffic Act – causing death by dangerous driving – sentencing principles: degree of recklessness/negligence; factors: speed, road and vehicle condition, presence of pedestrians; mitigation (first offender, dependants, licence suspension, compensation) considered but did not render three-year term excessive.
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25 November 1981 |
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Owner who had not paid the utility supplier cannot sue tenant for supplier’s unpaid electricity bills.
Civil procedure – recovery of utility charges – standing to sue – owner named on supplier’s meter but unpaid – a non-paying owner cannot sue to recover supplier’s arrears from tenant.
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20 November 1981 |
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Identification proved but malice not established; conviction reduced to manslaughter and three‑year sentence.
Criminal law – identification at scene – reliability of bar eyewitnesses; missing weapon – failure to produce exhibits; causation of death by fall; malice aforethought versus manslaughter.
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20 November 1981 |
| July 1981 |
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Confession and credible witness evidence upheld a store‑breaking conviction despite non‑recovery of stolen goods.
* Criminal law – store-breaking and stealing – sufficiency of evidence – confession and eyewitness evidence – conviction without recovery of stolen property.
* Evidence – evaluation of credibility – afterthought exculpatory statements and failure to challenge witnesses at trial.
* Sentencing – applicability of Minimum Sentences Act 1972 – mandatory minimum upheld.
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21 July 1981 |
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Conviction quashed where trial magistrate improperly discredited defence witnesses and failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Burden and standard of proof – Proof beyond reasonable doubt; Evaluation of witness credibility – Improper rejection of defence witnesses based on rigid time estimates; Appellate review – Conviction unsafe where trial assessment of conflicting evidence is flawed.
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21 July 1981 |
| June 1981 |
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Guilty knowledge for receiving stolen property may be inferred from conduct; failure to prove value prevents minimum sentence application.
Criminal law – Receiving stolen property – Guilty knowledge may be inferred from conduct; presence at theft scene not required for receiving offence; Minimum Sentences Act inapplicable where value of stolen article not proved; alternative verdicts under s.187(2) Criminal Procedure Code.
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26 June 1981 |
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Identification by a known complainant plus medical corroboration upheld conviction for unlawful wounding; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Unlawful wounding (s.228(1) Penal Code) – Identification evidence – Complainant known to accused and immediate identification; corroboration by medical report – Inconsistencies in secondary witness not fatal to conviction.
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26 June 1981 |
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Whether prosecution proved stealing by a servant beyond reasonable doubt and whether appellate court should disturb credibility findings.
Criminal law – Stealing by servant – proof beyond reasonable doubt – credibility findings of trial court – appellate deference to witness assessment – quantification of theft – sentences under Minimum Sentences Act 1972 – restitution order.
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16 June 1981 |
| May 1981 |
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Appeal quashes convictions of stores clerk and turn‑boy for lack of evidence; driver and receiver’s convictions upheld.
Criminal law – conviction of co‑accused – admissible evidence required against each accused; trial court must not convict on speculation or on co‑accused’s statements alone; mens rea requirement for theft; receiving stolen property proven by possession and identification of goods.
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19 May 1981 |
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The appellant’s convictions were quashed because circumstantial evidence was too tenuous to exclude innocence.
* Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – requirements for inferences incompatible with innocence – burden remains on prosecution.
* Evidence – failure to call material witness and failure to disprove accused’s account undermines prosecution case.
* Criminal procedure – aggregation of weak, inconclusive facts cannot sustain conviction.
* Trial misdirection – findings of fact must be supported by evidence, not conjecture or hearsay.
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12 May 1981 |
| March 1981 |
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Failure of a different magistrate to re-take a prior plea does not vitiate trial where the accused was already properly arraigned by the Court.
* Criminal procedure – arraignment – s.203(1) Criminal Procedure Code – "the Court" construed as institutional Court; prior arraignment by the Court sufficient when trial conducted by a different magistrate of same Court.
* Criminal procedure – omission to re-take plea – not fatal where accused has already been properly arraigned before the Court.
* Evidence – identification – identification in daylight by a known witness and corroboration can safely support conviction despite non-recovery of stolen property.
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31 March 1981 |
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Documentary records and credible employer testimony defeated the applicant's unpaid-wages claim; appeal dismissed with costs.
Labour law – wage arrears and overtime claims; evidentiary weight of petty cash vouchers signed by claimant; credibility of employer’s treasurer (DW1); competence and compellability of witness; procedural objections to ex parte set-aside timing and unauthorised representation; appellate review of trial court’s findings on credibility.
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25 March 1981 |
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Conviction for alleged store theft quashed where inventory records were unreliable and proof failed beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Theft by clerk or servant – proof of shortage – whether bin cards and cardex cards alone suffice without checking cash sale receipts.
* Evidence – contradictions between prosecution witnesses and failure of stock verifier to verify primary documents – effect on proof beyond reasonable doubt.
* Appeal – conviction quashed where prosecution failed to establish loss with moral certainty.
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2 March 1981 |
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Convictions for stealing by servant quashed for insufficient evidence; reliance on absent auditor’s report; sentences and compensation set aside.
Criminal law – Stealing by servant – Sufficiency of evidence – Reliance on audit report and absent auditor – Hearsay and failure of prosecution to adduce necessary oral evidence – Convictions quashed; sentences and compensation set aside.
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2 March 1981 |
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Conviction for receiving stolen property quashed where trial judge wrongly shifted burden and accused's innocent possession was plausible.
Criminal law — Receiving stolen property — Possession and bona fides — Burden of proof remains on prosecution — Adverse inference from failure to call witness not justified where prosecution fails to disprove defence explanation — Unsafe conviction quashed.
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2 March 1981 |