Wakilii

Rex v Karama (Criminal Appeal No. 200 of 1951)

East African Court of Appeal · [1951] EACA 304 · 1951 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from H.M. Supreme Court of Kenya (Appellate Side) challenging conviction for assault causing actual bodily harm on grounds of autrefois convict
Decision
Conviction for assault causing actual bodily harm upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Where proved facts disclose more than one offence, all such offences may be charged together or separately, and a prior conviction for one offence does not bar subsequent prosecution for another offence arising from the same facts. Section 21 of the Penal Code bars subsequent prosecution only where the facts disclose a single act or omission. A conviction for affray does not bar subsequent prosecution for assault causing actual bodily harm committed during the affray, as these constitute separate offences based on distinct facts.

Outcome

Conviction for assault causing actual bodily harm upheld

Facts

On 29 March 1951, the appellant and nine others were convicted of affray before the Resident Magistrate, Mombasa, and each fined Sh. 20 after pleading guilty. On 1 May 1951, the appellant was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm for stabbing Salim Salmin during the same affray, causing a wound requiring an operation and eighteen days' hospitalisation. The appellant pleaded autrefois convict, arguing he had already been convicted and punished for the affray. The Magistrate overruled the plea and convicted the appellant. The Supreme Court of Kenya dismissed the appeal, and the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa.

Issues

  1. Whether a prior conviction for affray bars a subsequent prosecution for assault causing actual bodily harm arising from the same incident under the doctrine of autrefois convict.
  2. Whether section 21 of the Penal Code bars a second charge where the same act forms the basis of both offences.
  3. Whether there is a conflict between section 21 of the Penal Code and sections 139 and 140 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Autrefois Convict — Multiple Offences Arising from Same Facts
Where the proved facts of a case disclose more than one offence, all such offences may be charged together in the same charge or information, and a prior conviction for one of these offences is no bar to a subsequent charge for another offence arising out of the same facts.
Autrefois Convict — Single Act or Omission
If the facts disclose only one act or omission, then subject to the exception where death is caused, section 21 of the Penal Code will bar any subsequent prosecution on a charge for another offence based on the same act.
Criminal Procedure Code — Joinder of Offences and Separate Trials
Sections 139 and 135(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code permit separate prosecution for offences founded on the same facts or forming part of a series of offences of the same or similar character, notwithstanding a prior conviction for one such offence.
Affray and Assault — Distinct Offences
Participation in an affray and the act of stabbing another person during that affray constitute separate offences based on distinct facts, such that a conviction for affray does not bar subsequent prosecution for assault causing actual bodily harm arising from the stabbing.
Guilty Plea — Scope of Conviction
A guilty plea to affray does not constitute a plea of guilty to every individual act forming part of the affray, and does not bar subsequent prosecution for a separate offence constituted by one of those acts.

Legislation cited (8)

  • Criminal Procedure Code s.139
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.135
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.135(1)
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.140
  • Penal Code s.21
  • Penal Code s.89
  • Penal Code s.246
  • Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance s.2

Full judgment

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

Rex v Karama (Criminal Appeal No. 200 of 1951) [1951] EACA 304 (1 January 1951)
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.