Wakilii

Rex v Hughes (Cr.App. 1-1929.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1929] EACA 145 · 1929 Acquittal Upheld AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Case stated by Magistrate at Nakuru following acquittal under the Resident Native Labourers Ordinance
Decision
Accused acquitted; case stated answered in favour of accused

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Section 9 of the Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 does not expressly require an occupier to produce his register of resident native labourers upon demand by an authorized person, and refusal to produce does not constitute an offence punishable under section 17. The section empowers a Magistrate to make an order for production, non-compliance with which may be dealt with under the Magistrate's ordinary powers, provided proper procedure is followed. Where a penalty of £50 or two months imprisonment attaches to failure to perform an act, the obligation must be enacted in clear and unequivocal language. The legislature's omission of express production language in section 9, contrasted with its inclusion in section 6, must be regarded as intentional.

Outcome

Accused acquitted; case stated answered in favour of accused

Facts

A Labour Inspector accompanied by a Justice of the Peace entered the farm of Hughes and demanded production of his register of persons residing on the farm under the Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925. Hughes refused to produce the register. At trial, Hughes stated that his register was at Nanyuki, some fifty miles away, where he and his squatters had been working for the past twelve months. Hughes was charged under section 9 with failing to produce his squatters register when called upon to do so by the Labour Inspector. The Magistrate at Nakuru acquitted Hughes but stated a case for the opinion of the Court on three questions concerning the interpretation of section 9.

Issues

  1. Whether section 9 of the Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 definitely and legally requires an occupier to produce his squatter register upon demand by an authorized person.
  2. Whether section 9 creates any offence punishable under section 17 of the same Ordinance out of a refusal to comply with such a demand.
  3. Whether the register is properly kept at the place of work rather than where natives live on one farm and work at another some distance away.

Orders

  • Questions answered by the Court.
  • Acquittal upheld.

Rules and key headnotes

Statutory Interpretation — Penal Provisions — Requirement for Clear and Unequivocal Language
Where a failure to perform a particular act entails a penalty of £50 or two months imprisonment or both, the obligation to perform such act must be enacted in clear and unequivocal language.
Statutory Interpretation — Legislative Omission — Intentional Omission
Where the legislature has expressly provided for the production of a document under penalty in one section but omitted such language in another section of the same Ordinance, the Court is entitled to regard that omission as intentional and cannot supply the missing words.
Administrative Law — Production of Documents — Magistrate's Powers
Section 9 of the Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 empowers a Magistrate to make an order for production of a register, non-compliance with which may be dealt with by the Magistrate under his ordinary powers to require the production of a document, provided that proper procedure including information or complaint, summons to produce, and written authority has been followed.
Statutory Interpretation — Marginal Notes — Evidential Value
A marginal note to a section is no part of the section and where it purports to enlarge the provisions of the section it is to be disregarded.

Legislation cited (4)

  • Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 s.9
  • Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 s.6
  • Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 s.17
  • Resident Native Labourers Ordinance 1925 s.4

Cases cited (4)

  • Thiathi Wa Mbate v. Crown, 9 E.A.L.R.
  • Mullins v Vollons (1874) LR 9 QB 292
  • Union Bank of London v Ingram (1882) 01 Ch D 463
  • Reg. v. Charnell, 15 Q.B.

Full judgment

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

Rex v Hughes (Cr.App. 1-1929.) [1929] EACA 145 (1 January 1929)
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.