Wakilii

Rex v Anyoro (Cr. App, No. 194 of 1938.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1938] EACA 140 · 1938 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction for murder by the High Court of Uganda
Decision
Conviction for murder upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Court of Appeal held that a confession made to a Chief is not ipso facto inadmissible under a strict reading of the Evidence Ordinance Cap. 68 s.24. The Court found sufficient corroboration of the children's evidence in the appellant's conduct in leading the Chief to where the murder weapon was hidden. The appeal against conviction for murder was dismissed.

Outcome

Conviction for murder upheld

Facts

The appellant was convicted of murdering a child. Two children of tender years testified that they had seen the appellant kill the deceased with a spear. The Wan Pach (Chief) of Alegi gave evidence that the accused had voluntarily confessed to him that he had killed the child and that the appellant had shown him where the spear was hidden. The appellant appealed the conviction.

Issues

  1. Whether a confession made to a Chief is admissible in evidence under the Evidence Ordinance (Laws of Uganda) Cap. 68 s.24.
  2. Whether there was sufficient corroboration of the evidence of children of tender years.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Confessions — Admissibility of Confession to Chief
A confession made to a Chief is not ipso facto inadmissible in evidence on a strict reading of the Evidence Ordinance Cap. 68 s.24.
Evidence — Corroboration — Children of Tender Years
The conduct of an accused in leading a Chief to the location where a murder weapon was hidden constitutes sufficient corroboration of the evidence of children of tender years.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Evidence Ordinance (Laws of Uganda) Cap. 68 s.24

Full judgment

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

Rex v Anyoro (Cr. App, No. 194 of 1938.) [1938] EACA 140 (1 January 1938)
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.