Wakilii

Rex v Kyononeka and Another (Cr.A 69-1934.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1937] EACA 151 · 1937 Conviction Quashed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction for murder in the High Court of Uganda
Decision
Conviction set aside; appellants to be tried according to law

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

Where two persons are indicted separately and tried together, the proceedings are a nullity. The court followed Rex v Dennis and Parker (1924) 1 KB 867, holding that consent of the accused to the illegality does not correct the want of jurisdiction. The conviction was set aside and the appellants ordered to be tried according to law.

Outcome

Conviction set aside; appellants to be tried according to law

Facts

Two appellants were committed for trial together for murder. They were charged in separate informations but tried together in the High Court of Uganda. Both were convicted. The appellants appealed the conviction on the ground that the trial was a nullity because they were tried together on separate informations.

Issues

  1. Whether a trial is a nullity where two accused persons are charged in separate informations but tried together.

Orders

  • Conviction set aside.
  • Appellants to be tried according to law.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Procedure — Trial — Separate Informations — Joint Trial — Nullity
Where two persons are indicted separately and tried together, the proceedings are a nullity, and the consent of the accused to the illegality does not correct the want of jurisdiction.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Criminal Procedure Code Uganda s.134
  • Kenya Code of Criminal Procedure s.132

Cases cited (2)

  • Rex v Dennis and Parker [1924] 1 KB 867
  • Crane v Director of Public Prosecutions [1921] AC 299

Full judgment

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

Rex v Kyononeka and Another (Cr.A 69-1934.) [1937] EACA 151 (1 January 1937)
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.