Wakilii

Rex v Nsiyaleta (Cr. App. No. 32-1936.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1936] EACA 50 · 1936 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from High Court murder conviction
Decision
Conviction for murder upheld

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 where a deposition of a deceased witness is to be admitted in evidence, proof of death must be provided as required by section 266(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code. Consent by defending counsel does not cure the irregularity of admitting such evidence without proper proof of death. However, the court excluded the improperly admitted medical evidence from consideration and found the remaining evidence sufficient to sustain the conviction.

Outcome

Conviction for murder upheld

Facts

The appellant was convicted of murdering Enoka. An eye-witness, Ejulieri, testified that the appellant speared the deceased. Ejulieri had previously lived with the appellant but was living with Enoka at the time of the killing. She stated the appellant was jealous of her transfer of affection to Enoka. She struggled with the assailant over the spear shaft, which other witnesses identified as belonging to the appellant through distinctive marks. A spike that fitted the shaft was found in the appellant's possession. At trial, medical evidence was admitted based on identification of the body by a witness named Timuteo. Timuteo died before the High Court hearing, and his deposition was read without proof of his death as required by statute, though both prosecution and defence counsel did not object.

Issues

  1. Whether the deposition of a deceased witness could be admitted in evidence without proof of death as required by section 266(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code, where defending counsel consented to its admission.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Depositions — Deceased Witness — Proof of Death Required
Where it is desired to put in evidence the deposition of a witness who has died, his death must be proved as provided by section 266(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Evidence — Depositions — Consent of Counsel — Does Not Cure Irregularity
The fact that the advocate for the accused consents to a deposition being put in evidence without proof of the witness's death does not sanction the irregularity of failing to comply with section 266(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Evidence — Depositions — Statement by Counsel — Insufficient Proof
A statement by counsel for the prosecution that a witness is dead does not constitute compliance with the requirement in section 266(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code to prove the death of a witness whose deposition is to be admitted.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Criminal Procedure Code s.266(a)

Full judgment

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

Rex v Nsiyaleta (Cr. App. No. 32-1936.) [1936] EACA 50 (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.