Wakilii

Rex v Mamure (Cr. App. 177-1932.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1932] EACA 24 · 1932 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction for murder
Decision
Conviction for murder upheld; appellant remains convicted

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against a murder conviction. The Court held that evidence of a wife married by native custom is admissible in criminal proceedings. The Court further held that as a general rule, no words or gestures, however opprobrious or provoking, constitute provocation sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter if the killing is effected with a deadly weapon.

Outcome

Conviction for murder upheld; appellant remains convicted

Facts

The appellant and Kache, mother of the deceased, were neighbours. Kache's fowls repeatedly damaged the appellant's maize crop. On the day of the incident, the fowls were loose and the appellant and deceased exchanged abusive words. Kache found them arguing and requested they stop. The deceased was in his house and refused to come out when the appellant asked. The appellant went to his own house approximately twenty paces away, retrieved a bow and arrow, and immediately upon emerging fired at the deceased who was standing at his door holding a piece of firewood. The deceased died from the arrow wound. There had been no previous dispute between the men, who were cousins. The appellant's wife testified that she tried to stop the appellant when he retrieved the weapon but he pushed her down.

Issues

  1. Whether the evidence of a wife married by native custom is admissible against her husband in a criminal trial.
  2. Whether words and gestures, however opprobrious or provoking, constitute sufficient provocation to reduce murder to manslaughter when the killing is effected with a deadly weapon.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Competence and Compellability of Witnesses — Wife Married by Native Custom
The evidence of a wife married by native custom is admissible in criminal proceedings against her husband.
Criminal Law — Murder and Manslaughter — Provocation — Verbal Provocation and Use of Deadly Weapon
As a general rule, no words or gestures, however opprobrious or provoking, can be considered in law to be provocation sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter if the killing is effected with a deadly weapon.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Indian Evidence Act s.122

Cases cited (6)

  • Rex v Robin (1929) 12 EALR 134
  • Rex v Lapworthy (22 CA Reports 87)
  • Rex v Amkeyo (1917) 7 EALR 14
  • Rex v Palmer [1913] 2 KB 29
  • Rex v. Lynch, 5 C.P. 817
  • Rex v Mwakio Asani s/o Mwanguku (Criminal Appeal No. 63 of 1930)

Full judgment

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

Rex v Mamure (Cr. App. 177-1932.) [1932] EACA 24 (1 January 1932)
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.