Wakilii

Rex v Forster (Criminal Appeal No. 293 of 1943)

East African Court of Appeal · [1944] EACA 7 · 1944 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction for failure to comply with Director of Manpower order
Decision
Conviction and sentence upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

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 held that the appellant, having been lawfully ordered by the Director of Manpower under section 22A of the Kenya Defence Force Ordinance 1937 to report for enrolment in the special police, committed an offence by refusing to sign the declaration required under section 70 of the Police Ordinance 1930. Section 70(3) clearly compels a person appointed as special constable to make the required declaration whether volunteer or conscript. The appellant's refusal on grounds of non-remuneration had no substance as he could enforce any legal entitlement to remuneration separately. Appeal dismissed.

Outcome

Conviction and sentence upheld

Facts

The appellant was convicted of failing to comply with an order issued by the Director of Manpower under section 22A of the Kenya Defence Force Ordinance 1937. Being a member of the Kenya Defence Force who had not been called out or mobilised, he was ordered to report to the Superintendent of Police, Nairobi, for enrolment in the Special Police. The appellant reported but refused to sign the declaration required under section 70 of the Police Ordinance 1930. He stated he refused as a matter of principle because he discovered he would receive no remuneration for his services, to which he claimed entitlement under section 22D of the Kenya Defence Force Ordinance 1939. The appellant did not dispute that the Director of Manpower's order was lawful.

Issues

  1. Whether the accused, having been lawfully ordered to report for enrolment in the special police, committed an offence by refusing to make the declaration required under section 70 of the Police Ordinance 1930.
  2. Whether there was a legal requirement compelling a British subject to sign the declaration prescribed by section 70 of the Police Ordinance 1930.
  3. Whether the appellant's refusal to sign the declaration on grounds of non-remuneration constituted a valid defence.

Orders

  • Appeal against conviction dismissed.
  • Appeal against sentence dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Law & Procedure — Offences — Failure to comply with lawful order — Refusal to make statutory declaration
Where a person is lawfully ordered by the Director of Manpower to report for enrolment in the special police and refuses to sign the declaration required under section 70 of the Police Ordinance 1930, that person commits an offence by failing to comply with the lawful order.
Administrative Law — Statutory Powers — Director of Manpower — Power to order enrolment in special police
An order by the Director of Manpower requiring a member of the Kenya Defence Force to perform Special Police duties is a lawful order under section 22A of the Kenya Defence Force Ordinance 1937.
Employment & Labour — Special Constables — Declaration requirement — Compulsory nature
Section 70(3) of the Police Ordinance 1930 compels a person appointed as special constable to make the required declaration whether that person is a volunteer or a conscript.
Employment & Labour — Special Constables — Powers and protections — Conditional upon declaration
Under section 70(4) of the Police Ordinance 1930, it is only upon a special constable making the required declaration that he is by law given the powers, privileges and protection of police constables.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Kenya Defence Force Ordinance 1937 s.22A
  • Kenya Defence Force Ordinance 1939 s.22D
  • Police Ordinance 1930 s.70
  • Police Ordinance 1930 s.70(3)
  • Police Ordinance 1930 s.70(4)
  • Special Constables Act 1831 s.7

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Rex v Forster (Criminal Appeal No. 293 of 1943) [1944] EACA 7 (1 January 1944)
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.