Wakilii

Rex v Deaf and Dumb Person (Cr. R. 62-1931.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1931] EACA 31 · 1931 Revision Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal revision from Magistrate's Court under section 162 Criminal Procedure Code
Decision
Sentence of imprisonment quashed; accused ordered detained in house of detention under Vagrancy Ordinance

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that under the Vagrancy Ordinance there is no power to alter an order of detention into an order of imprisonment with or without hard labour. The word detention in section 11 refers to a house of detention for vagrants declared under section 4, not a detention camp. The sentence of one month's hard labour was quashed and the accused ordered to be detained under the Vagrancy Ordinance in a house of detention.

Outcome

Sentence of imprisonment quashed; accused ordered detained in house of detention under Vagrancy Ordinance

Facts

A deaf and dumb vagrant was sentenced by a Magistrate under section 11(1) of the Vagrancy Ordinance to one month's detention. After the vagrant escaped for a few hours, the Magistrate altered the sentence to one month's hard labour. The proceedings were sent to the Supreme Court under section 162 of the Criminal Procedure Code for review.

Issues

  1. Whether a Magistrate has power under the Vagrancy Ordinance to alter an order of detention into an order of imprisonment with hard labour.

Orders

  • Sentence of one month's hard labour quashed.
  • Accused ordered to be detained under the Vagrancy Ordinance in a house of detention.
  • Provisions of the Vagrancy Ordinance to be applied to this case.

Rules and key headnotes

Vagrancy — Sentencing Powers — Detention versus Imprisonment
Under the Vagrancy Ordinance there is no power to alter an order of detention into an order of imprisonment with or without hard labour.
Vagrancy Ordinance — Meaning of Detention
The word detention in section 11 of the Vagrancy Ordinance refers to a house of detention for the occupation of vagrants declared under section 4 of the Ordinance, and not to a detention camp under the Detention Camps Ordinance.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Vagrancy Ordinance s.11
  • Vagrancy Ordinance s.11(1)
  • Vagrancy Ordinance s.4
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.162
  • Detention Camps Ordinance

Full judgment

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

Rex v Deaf and Dumb Person (Cr. R. 62-1931.) [1931] EACA 31 (1 January 1931)
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.