Wakilii

Rex v Haq (Cr. App. 40-1931.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1931] EACA 26 · 1931 Conviction Quashed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction under Employment of Natives Ordinance by Second Class Subordinate Court at Mombasa
Decision
Conviction quashed; matter to proceed by way of civil action if brought within three months

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

A taxi driver is not a servant within the meaning of the Employment of Natives Ordinance. Following Chhaija Singh v Crown, the Court held that the magistrate should have exercised discretion under section 44 to refer the wage dispute to civil proceedings rather than criminal prosecution. Conviction quashed.

Outcome

Conviction quashed; matter to proceed by way of civil action if brought within three months

Facts

A taxi driver employed by the appellant claimed Sh. 228/70 in wages. The Crown prosecuted the appellant under the Employment of Natives Ordinance in the Second Class Subordinate Court at Mombasa. The magistrate found the taxi driver entitled to the wages, convicted the appellant, and ordered payment of Sh. 228/70 or fourteen days imprisonment in default. The appellant raised various defences and stated intention to counterclaim. The magistrate did not fully explore these defences or exercise his powers under section 44 of the Ordinance to refer the matter to civil proceedings.

Issues

  1. Whether a taxi driver is a servant within the definition of the Employment of Natives Ordinance.
  2. Whether the magistrate should have exercised discretion under section 44 to order a civil action instead of proceedings under the Ordinance.

Orders

  • Conviction quashed.
  • Sum of Sh. 228/70 paid into Court to be transferred to the Court before which any civil action is taken to abide the result of any civil trial.
  • If no civil action brought within three months, sum to be paid out to the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment of Natives Ordinance — Definition of Servant — Taxi Driver
A taxi driver is not a servant within the definition of section 2 of the Employment of Natives Ordinance.
Employment of Natives Ordinance — Section 44 — Magistrate's Discretion
Where a wage dispute is essentially a civil matter, a magistrate should exercise the discretion vested by section 44 of the Employment of Natives Ordinance to order that the matter proceed by way of civil action rather than criminal proceedings under the Ordinance.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Employment of Natives Ordinance s.2
  • Employment of Natives Ordinance s.44

Cases cited (1)

  • Chhaija Singh v Crown (1931) 11 EALR 91

Full judgment

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

Rex v Haq (Cr. App. 40-1931.) [1931] EACA 26 (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.