Wakilii

Rex v Mereru and Another (CRIMINAL APPEALS Nos. 27, 28, 29 AND 30 OF 1939)

East African Court of Appeal · [1939] EACA 118 · 1939 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeals from conviction by High Court of Tanganyika for murder
Decision
Appellants' convictions for murder upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that charging three murders in one count was an illegality under section 132 of the Tanganyika Criminal Procedure Code, which requires each distinct offence to be the subject of a separate count. However, this illegality was cured by section 335 where the three killings were part of the same transaction and the accused were not prejudiced or embarrassed in their defence. The appeals were dismissed.

Outcome

Appellants' convictions for murder upheld

Facts

Four accused were charged in one count with the murder of three persons. The three killings occurred during a single attack by one party of men upon another party at the same time and place. The appellants admitted they deliberately set out to kill the Masai victims, who had killed one of the appellants' fellow Wasonjo tribesmen. The appellants told messengers of the Native Authority that they had killed three persons. The appellants believed that according to tribal custom they were entitled to take the law into their hands. They were convicted by the High Court of Tanganyika and appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether charging the murder of three persons in one count constituted duplicity rendering the charge invalid.
  2. Whether any illegality in the form of the charge was cured by section 335 of the Criminal Procedure Code where the accused were not prejudiced in their defence.

Orders

  • Appeals dismissed.
  • Convictions upheld.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Procedure — Charge — Duplicity — Multiple Murders in One Count
Where several offences are committed at the same time in respect of different persons, section 132 of the Tanganyika Criminal Procedure Code requires one charge or information with a separate count for each distinct offence, not multiple offences in a single count.
Criminal Procedure — Illegality in Charge — Cure under Section 335
An illegality in the form of a charge is cured by section 335 of the Criminal Procedure Code where the accused persons were not prejudiced or embarrassed in their defence and there has not otherwise been a failure of justice.
Criminal Procedure — Same Transaction Exception — Multiple Offences
Where felonious acts forming part of one transaction are committed with respect to several persons at one and the same time, the inclusion of all offences in one count may be permissible under general principles, though separate counts are preferable to avoid any possibility of prejudice to the accused.
Criminal Procedure — Illegality versus Irregularity — Section 537 Indian Code
The distinction between illegality and irregularity is not determinative where the sole criterion under section 537 of the Criminal Procedure Code is whether the accused person has been prejudiced; if justice has been done despite procedural defects, there is no necessity to set aside the conviction.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Tanganyika Criminal Procedure Code s.132
  • Tanganyika Criminal Procedure Code s.335

Cases cited (11)

  • R v Molboy [1921] 2 KB 364
  • R v Disney (1924) 24 Cr App R 49
  • R v Wilmot (1924) 24 Cr App R 63
  • R v Giddings (174 ER 667)
  • R v Odda Tore and Guyo Halake [1934] EACA 114
  • Mongella s/o Ngui v Rex [1934] EACA 152
  • Subrahmania Ayer (1901) ILR 25 Mad 61
  • Kapoor Chand v Suraj Prasad (55 All 301)
  • Abdul Rahman v. King Emperor
  • Emperor v Erman Ali (1930) ILR 57 Cal 1228
  • Emperor v Bishan Sabai Vidyarthi (1937) ILR All 798

Full judgment

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

Rex v Mereru and Another (CRIMINAL APPEALS Nos. 27, 28, 29 AND 30 OF 1939) [1939] EACA 118 (1 January 1939)
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.