Rex v Katani (Criminal Appeal No. 227 of 1945)
Observed later treatment
No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.
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Holding
The Court held that being slapped twice on the face by an unarmed person does not constitute legal provocation sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter where the accused responded by stabbing the deceased in the back with great force. In the absence of evidence that an ordinary person of the appellant's community would be more likely to lose self-control from such an act, the facts did not establish provocation in law. Appeal dismissed.
Outcome
Conviction for murder and sentence of death upheld
Facts
The appellant was convicted of murdering Mboniko, a mine askari, and sentenced to death. The deceased encountered the appellant while he was cutting firewood near a mine beacon. According to the appellant's own account, Mboniko slapped his face twice. In response, the appellant stabbed Mboniko in the back with a knife driven in with such force that it was difficult to withdraw. The deceased was completely unarmed and had no weapon, not even a stick. Medical evidence confirmed the fatal stabbing. The appellant's face, examined soon after the incident, showed no mark of any slapping. There was no eye-witness to the killing apart from the appellant's own accounts.
Issues
- Whether the deceased slapping the appellant's face twice constituted legal provocation sufficient to reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter.
Orders
- Appeal dismissed.
- Conviction for murder upheld.
Rules and key headnotes
Full judgment
The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.