Wakilii

Rex v Kiruki and Another (Criminal Revision Case No. 46 of 1939)

East African Court of Appeal · [1938] EACA 155 · 1938 Revision Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal revision from magistrate's court order requiring parents to pay damages after acquittal of children
Decision
Orders against parents set aside; fathers to be released if in custody and any money paid refunded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that the proved commission of an offence is a condition precedent to making an order under section 13(1) of the Juveniles Ordinance 1934 against a parent or guardian. As children under seven years are incapable of committing an offence, no order for payment of damages can be made against their parents under that section. Orders requiring fathers to pay damages were quashed.

Outcome

Orders against parents set aside; fathers to be released if in custody and any money paid refunded

Facts

Two children aged 2½ and 3½ years were charged with negligently starting a grass fire on a farm without permission. The magistrate acquitted them as being under seven years of age and therefore not criminally responsible. However, the magistrate then ordered their respective fathers to pay damages of Sh. 500 each under section 13(1) of the Juveniles Ordinance 1934. The magistrate submitted the question of whether these orders were rightly made to the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa on revision.

Issues

  1. Whether an order under section 13(1) of the Juveniles Ordinance 1934 can be made against a parent where the child has been acquitted on grounds of being under seven years of age and therefore incapable of committing an offence.

Orders

  • Orders against the two fathers quashed.
  • Any money paid to be refunded.
  • The two fathers to be released if in custody.

Rules and key headnotes

Juveniles — Parental Liability — Condition Precedent
The proved commission of an offence is a condition precedent to the making of an order under section 13(1) of the Juveniles Ordinance 1934 against a parent or guardian.
Juveniles — Criminal Capacity — Children Under Seven Years
As a child under the age of seven years is incapable of committing an offence, no order under section 13(1) of the Juveniles Ordinance 1934 can be made against a parent in respect of the acts of such a child.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Juveniles Ordinance 1934 s.13(1)

Full judgment

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

Rex v Kiruki and Another (Criminal Revision Case No. 46 of 1939) [1938] EACA 155 (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.