Wakilii

Rex v Kanji (Criminal Appeal No. 46 of 1946)

East African Court of Appeal · [1946] EACA 72 · 1946 Appeal Allowed — Bail Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal against refusal of bail pending appeal from conviction and sentence for assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Decision
Appellant released on bail pending appeal against conviction and sentence

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that bail pending appeal after conviction is not granted save in exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances may exist where the appellant is of good character, is a first offender, the appeal has been admitted to hearing showing it is not frivolous, there is delay in hearing the appeal, and a co-accused in the same position has been granted bail. The appeal was allowed and the appellant released on bail.

Outcome

Appellant released on bail pending appeal against conviction and sentence

Facts

The appellant and a co-accused were convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The appellant was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment with hard labour and the co-accused to four months. Both appealed against conviction and sentence. The learned Magistrate released the co-accused on bail pending appeal but refused the appellant's application for bail. The appellant appealed against the refusal of bail. The appeal was not likely to be heard before the end of March or beginning of April, by which time the appellant would have served one-fourth to one-third of his sentence. The appellant was a first offender and his appeal had been admitted to hearing.

Issues

  1. Whether exceptional circumstances existed to justify granting bail to an appellant pending appeal after conviction and sentence to imprisonment.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Appellant ordered to be released on his own bond of Sh. 1,000 plus one surety of Sh. 1,000 pending the hearing of his appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Law & Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — General Rule Against Granting Bail After Conviction
It is not the practice to grant bail to an appellant after he has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment save in very exceptional circumstances.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Exceptional Circumstances
In deciding whether exceptional circumstances exist to justify bail pending appeal, the Court is entitled to take into consideration the good character of the appellant coupled with the delay in hearing the appeal, the fact that the appeal has been admitted to hearing showing it is not frivolous, and the fact that a co-accused in the same position has been released on bail.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Delay in Hearing Appeal
The mere fact of delay in hearing an appeal is not of itself an exceptional circumstance justifying bail, but it may become an exceptional circumstance when coupled with other factors such as the good character of the appellant.

Cases cited (2)

  • R v Starkie (24 Cr App R 1)
  • R v Habib Kara Vesta and others [1] EACA 197

Full judgment

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

Rex v Kanji (Criminal Appeal No. 46 of 1946) [1946] EACA 72 (1 January 1946)
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.