Wakilii

Rex v Lalasia (Cr.A. 87-1936.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1936] EACA 106 · 1936 Appeal Allowed — Acquittal Entered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from murder conviction
Decision
Appellant acquitted and discharged

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where a confession to private persons is denied by the accused and the Crown witnesses give materially different accounts of the circumstances in which it was made, corroboration is necessary to sustain a conviction. The variation between the witnesses' accounts cast doubt on whether the confession was actually made. The appeal was allowed and the appellant acquitted.

Outcome

Appellant acquitted and discharged

Facts

The appellant was convicted of murdering a person unknown. Two boys, Ekeno and Ekidoli, sons of Napio, had been killed and it was alleged the appellant killed one of them, though it was not known which. The conviction rested almost entirely on a confession allegedly made by the appellant to two Samburu men, Sesegat and Mekeri. The appellant denied making the confession. Sesegat testified that he heard the confession when the accused was conversing with his brother Mekeri in the evening. Mekeri testified that his brother Sesegat first told him the accused had killed the boys, and he then questioned the accused. Sesegat admitted to having told lies in the matter.

Issues

  1. Whether corroboration of a confession made to private persons is required where the making of the confession is denied and the witnesses give conflicting accounts of the circumstances.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Appellant acquitted.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Confessions — Confessions to Private Persons — Requirement for Corroboration
Where a confession is made to private persons in the course of conversation and the making of the confession is denied, corroboration may be required to sustain a conviction, particularly where the witnesses give materially different accounts of the circumstances in which the confession was made.
Evidence — Confessions — Weight of Evidence — Distinction Between Judicial and Extra-Judicial Confessions
A confession made to private persons in the course of conversation is of less weight than a statutory statement made in a judicial proceeding or an extra-judicial confession made before a magistrate.
Evidence — Confessions — Material Variations in Witness Accounts — Effect on Credibility
Where Crown witnesses give materially different accounts of the circumstances in which a confession was made, such variation is not a mere discrepancy but casts doubt on whether the witnesses are telling the truth about whether the inculpatory statement was actually made.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Information — Description of Deceased — Murder of Person Unknown
Where the identity of the deceased person is unknown to the Crown, an information charging murder of a person unknown is correctly drawn up in pursuance of section 243(6) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Criminal Procedure Code s.243(6)

Full judgment

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Rex v Lalasia (Cr.A. 87-1936.) [1936] EACA 106 (1 January 1936)
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.