Wakilii

Crown v Ndolo (Revision Case No. 24 of 1927)

East African Court of Appeal · [1927] EACA 22 · 1927 Revision Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal revision from lower court conviction
Decision
Sentence modified - imprisonment in default altered from rigorous to simple imprisonment

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that the order requiring a habitual offender to report monthly under Rule 9 of the 1916 Rules made pursuant to section 446(3) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance was ultra vires and of no effect. The sentence of imprisonment in default of payment of fine was altered from rigorous to simple imprisonment.

Outcome

Sentence modified - imprisonment in default altered from rigorous to simple imprisonment

Facts

The accused, Ndolo s/o Wa-Mbua, was convicted in a lower court. A Fort Hall criminal file 86/1922 was produced as evidence. The accused was charged with failing to report his address as required under habitual offender rules. The evidence suggested that the accused had notified his address before leaving gaol as required by the 1912 Rules, but failed to notify a change of residence. The accused was subject to an order requiring monthly reporting under Rule 9 of the 1916 Rules made under section 446(3) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance.

Issues

  1. Whether the order requiring a habitual offender to report monthly is ultra vires the Criminal Procedure Ordinance.
  2. Whether Rule 9 under section 445 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance is ultra vires.

Orders

  • The order to report monthly is of no effect, the Rule of 1916 being ultra vires derived from section 446(3) Criminal Procedure Ordinance.
  • The sentence of imprisonment in default of payment of the fine is altered from rigorous to simple imprisonment.

Rules and key headnotes

Habitual Offenders - Validity of Rules Requiring Monthly Reporting
An order requiring a habitual offender to report monthly under Rule 9 of the 1916 Rules made pursuant to section 446(3) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance is ultra vires and of no effect.
Ultra Vires Rules - Subordinate Legislation Exceeding Statutory Authority
Rules made under a statutory provision that exceed the authority granted by the enabling statute are ultra vires and invalid.

Legislation cited (3)

  • Criminal Procedure Ordinance s.446
  • Criminal Procedure Ordinance s.446(3)
  • Criminal Procedure Ordinance s.445

Cases cited (1)

  • Criminal Revision Case 21/1927

Full judgment

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

Crown v Ndolo (Revision Case No. 24 of 1927) [1927] EACA 22 (1 January 1927)
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.