Wakilii

Rex v Kasanga (Cr. App. No. 77 of 1938.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1938] EACA 120 · 1938 Conviction Quashed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction for murder by High Court of Tanganyika
Decision
Appellant acquitted and released

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

A dying declaration under section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act is only admissible in cases where the cause of the declarant's own death comes into question. Statements by Bushiri about shooting the deceased were inadmissible in a prosecution for that deceased's murder because Bushiri's death was not the subject of the charge. The conviction was quashed and the appellant acquitted.

Outcome

Appellant acquitted and released

Facts

The appellant was convicted of murdering Swedi bin Jarafu. At trial, evidence was admitted of statements made by one Bushiri before his death. Bushiri allegedly stated that at the instigation of his brother the appellant, he had attempted to shoot Ali bin Pondamali but mistakenly shot the deceased Swedi bin Jarafu instead. The prosecution relied on these statements as the nexus connecting the appellant to the murder. The appellant appealed on the ground that Bushiri's statements were inadmissible hearsay.

Issues

  1. Whether statements made by Bushiri before his death were admissible as dying declarations under section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act in a prosecution for the murder of a different person.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Appellant acquitted.
  • Release of appellant directed.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Hearsay — Dying Declarations — Admissibility under Indian Evidence Act s.32(1)
A dying declaration is only admissible in evidence in cases in which the cause of the declarant's own death comes into question, not where the declarant's statement relates to the death of a third party who is the subject of the charge.
Evidence — Hearsay — Dying Declarations — Scope of Exception to Hearsay Rule
Section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act provides an exception to the rule excluding hearsay evidence, but the exception applies only when the person whose death is in question is the declarant, not when the declarant's statement concerns the death of another person.
Criminal Law — Murder — Admissibility of Evidence — Statements by Third Party
In a prosecution for murder, statements by a third party who is now deceased are not admissible as dying declarations where the deceased third party's death is not the subject of the charge and the statement relates to the death of the victim named in the charge.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Indian Evidence Act s.32(1)

Cases cited (1)

  • Archbold (29th Ed. p. 379)

Full judgment

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Rex v Kasanga (Cr. App. No. 77 of 1938.) [1938] EACA 120 (1 January 1938)
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.