Wakilii

Rex v Kamara and Others (Criminal Appeal 27-1935.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1935] EACA 83 · 1935 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from murder conviction in the High Court of Tanganyika
Decision
Appellants' murder convictions upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal held that section 192 of the Penal Code (Tanganyika) lays down a precise rule limiting provocation to wrongful acts or insults done to the accused himself or to persons within specified categories (those under immediate care, or in conjugal, parental, filial, fraternal, or master-servant relations). Provocation given to a fellow tribesman does not fall within these categories and cannot reduce murder to manslaughter. The appellants' murder convictions were affirmed.

Outcome

Appellants' murder convictions upheld

Facts

At a drinking party, members of the Wambulu tribe (including the appellants) and the Barabaig tribe were present. A Barabaig man, Mtandi, stuck his spear in the ground in an insulting gesture. When guests were asked to leave, Mtandi chased one Wambulu man with a spear. The deceased, Gidagihando (a Barabaig), assaulted Tarmo, a Wambulu tribesman. Mtandi then speared Tarmo. The seven appellants, none of whom was Tarmo, chased and beat Gidagihando with sticks, inflicting fatal wounds. The appellants were convicted of murder in the High Court of Tanganyika.

Issues

  1. Whether provocation given to a fellow tribesman of the accused constitutes provocation within the meaning of section 192 of the Penal Code sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter.

Orders

  • Appeals dismissed.
  • Convictions for murder affirmed.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Provocation — Statutory Definition — Limitation to Specified Relationships
Section 192 of the Penal Code (Tanganyika) lays down a precise rule of law limiting provocation to wrongful acts or insults done to the accused himself or to persons standing in specified relationships to the accused, namely those under his immediate care or in conjugal, parental, filial, fraternal, or master-servant relations.
Murder — Provocation — Fellow Tribesman — Insufficient Relationship
Provocation given to a fellow tribesman of the accused does not constitute provocation within the meaning of section 192 of the Penal Code, as the relationship of fellow tribesmen does not fall within the categories specified in the statute.
Murder — Provocation — Must Be Directed at Accused
Where provocation is given to a third party and not to the accused himself, and that third party does not stand in one of the specified relationships to the accused under section 192, the accused cannot rely on that provocation to reduce murder to manslaughter.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Penal Code (Tanganyika) s.192

Cases cited (1)

  • Russell on Crimes, 8th Edition, Vol. 1, at p. 680

Full judgment

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Rex v Kamara and Others (Criminal Appeal 27-1935.) [1935] EACA 83 (1 January 1935)
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.