Wakilii

Butt v Queen (criminal Appeal No. 200 of 1954)

East African Court of Appeal · [1954] EACA 175 · 1954 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction and sentence for official corruption
Decision
Appellant's conviction and sentence of three years' imprisonment with hard labour confirmed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that substituting 'X' for a named person in the charge caused no prejudice where the accused understood throughout that 'X' referred to the named person. For official corruption under section 93(2) Penal Code, it is sufficient that the accused believed the police officer could use his official position to stop proceedings, regardless of whether the officer had formal legal authority to withdraw the charge. A three-year sentence for a Supreme Court clerk who attempted to corrupt a senior police officer with a substantial bribe was not excessive given the gravity of attempting to pervert justice.

Outcome

Appellant's conviction and sentence of three years' imprisonment with hard labour confirmed

Facts

The appellant, Mohamed Abdul Hamid Butt, was a clerk in the Supreme Court. On 19 November 1953 in Nairobi, he offered a bribe of Shs. 10,000 to J. Baker, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, to withdraw a criminal prosecution against one Kapur Chand which Baker had initiated. The appellant paid Shs. 5,000 immediately and withheld the remaining Shs. 5,000 until the prosecution was withdrawn. Baker, who was attached to the C.I.D. and in charge of the Investigation Branch when Kapur Chand was charged, did not prove venal and the matter proceeded to trial. The appellant was charged with official corruption under section 93(2) of the Penal Code. Before trial commenced, the prosecution amended the charge by substituting 'X' for 'Kapur Chand' to avoid potential prejudice to Kapur Chand's pending criminal trial. The appellant was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labour.

Issues

  1. Whether substitution of 'X' for a named person in the particulars of a charge prejudiced the accused.
  2. Whether offering a bribe to a police officer to withdraw a criminal charge constitutes official corruption under section 93(2) of the Penal Code when the officer lacks legal capacity to formally withdraw the charge.
  3. Whether a sentence of three years' imprisonment with hard labour for bribery by a Supreme Court clerk was excessive.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Conviction confirmed.
  • Sentence of three years' imprisonment with hard labour confirmed.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Procedure — Amendment of Charge — Substitution of Cipher for Named Person — Prejudice to Accused
Where a charge is amended to substitute a cipher ('X') for a named person to avoid potential prejudice to that person's pending trial, and the accused understood throughout the proceedings that the cipher referred to the named person, no prejudice is caused to the accused and no failure of justice occurs even if the amendment disclosed an irregularity.
Official Corruption — Bribe to Police Officer — Discharge of Duties of Office — Penal Code s.93(2)
Under section 93(2) of the Penal Code, it is sufficient for a conviction for official corruption that the accused believed the public officer could, by virtue of his official position, perform the act for which the bribe was given, regardless of whether the officer had formal legal authority to do the act. Where a bribe is offered to a police officer to withdraw a criminal charge, it is irrelevant whether the officer had legal capacity formally to withdraw the charge; the offence is complete if the accused believed the officer could use his official functions to end the proceedings.
Sentencing — Bribery — Court Official — Attempt to Pervert Justice
A sentence of three years' imprisonment with hard labour is not excessive for a Supreme Court clerk who attempted to corrupt a senior police officer by offering a substantial bribe to pervert the course of justice, having regard to the appellant's responsible position and the gravity of the offence.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Penal Code s.93(2)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Butt v Queen (criminal Appeal No. 200 of 1954) [1954] EACA 175 (1 January 1954)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.