Wakilii

Din and Another v Haji and Another (Criminal Revision Case No. 288 of 1945)

East African Court of Appeal · [1946] EACA 51 · 1946 Appeals Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeals from convictions under Nairobi Municipality By-law 99 for using buildings otherwise than for purposes specified in original plans
Decision
Appellants' convictions quashed and fines ordered refunded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that 'purposes' in By-law 99 refers to the class of building use (domestic, public, warehouse, etc.) as specified in By-law 6, not to the detailed room-by-room use. Using rooms within a domestic building for different domestic purposes (e.g., using a kitchen or store as a bedroom) does not constitute using the building otherwise than for its specified purpose. The building remains a dwelling house. Overcrowding may violate other by-laws but does not breach By-law 99. Appeals allowed, convictions quashed.

Outcome

Appellants' convictions quashed and fines ordered refunded

Facts

The appellants were individual owners of dwelling houses within Nairobi Municipality. Original plans described the buildings as domestic buildings and specified room uses (kitchen, store, bedroom, servants' quarters). The appellants permitted rooms marked as kitchens, stores, and boys' quarters to be occupied as bedrooms by Asians. They were convicted of using buildings otherwise than for purposes specified in the original plan contrary to By-law 99 of the Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944. In Appeal No. 263, an Asian was living in a room designated as a native servant's room. In Appeals Nos. 297 and 301, the Building Inspector found beds in a kitchen (7 ft. by 6 ft. by 8 ft. 6 in.) and a store (5 ft. by 6 ft. by 8 ft. 6 in.) on plot 143/I, with the accused residing there. The plan had been approved in 1919. The appellants claimed to have resided there for several years during an existing accommodation shortage.

Issues

  1. Whether the use of rooms designated as kitchens, stores, and servants' quarters as bedrooms constitutes using a building otherwise than for the purposes specified in the original plan contrary to By-law 99.
  2. What is the proper construction of the word 'purposes' in By-law 99 of the Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944.

Orders

  • Appeals allowed.
  • Convictions quashed.
  • Fines if paid are to be refunded.

Rules and key headnotes

Municipal By-laws — Construction — Nairobi Municipality By-law 99 — Meaning of 'purposes'
The word 'purposes' in By-law 99 of the Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944 refers to the class of building use as defined in By-law 6 (domestic building, public building, warehouse class building, etc.), not to the detailed room-by-room use specified in building plans.
By-laws — Interpretation — Ascertaining meaning from related provisions
To ascertain the meaning of 'purposes specified or indicated in the original application or plans' in By-law 99, regard must be had to what purposes would be specified in the application under By-law 80, which requires plans to show whether a building is intended to be used as a dwelling house or otherwise, thereby indicating the class of building under By-law 6.
Municipal By-laws — Breach — Using building otherwise than for specified purposes
A building described in the original plan as a domestic building is used otherwise than for the purposes specified where it is used as a public building or a building of the warehouse class, but not where rooms within the domestic building are used for different domestic purposes than those marked on the plan.
Municipal By-laws — Overcrowding — Distinction from change of building purpose
Overcrowding a dwelling house by using rooms designated as kitchens, stores, or servants' quarters as bedrooms does not amount to using the building otherwise than for the purposes specified in the original plan; the building is still being used as a dwelling, albeit with misuse of particular rooms which may constitute an offence under other by-laws.

Legislation cited (4)

  • Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944 By-law 99
  • Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944 By-law 6
  • Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944 By-law 80
  • Nairobi Municipality By-laws 1944 By-law 519

Cases cited (1)

  • Criminal Appeal No. 82 of 1946

Full judgment

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

Din and Another v Haji and Another (Criminal Revision Case No. 288 of 1945) [1946] EACA 54 (1 January 1946)
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.