Wakilii

Rex v Okaya and Others (Criminal Revision Cases Nos. 230, 231 and 232 of 1941)

East African Court of Appeal · [1940] EACA 70 · 1940 No Order in Revision AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal revision proceedings concerning three accused persons who failed to attend court in response to summonses
Decision
Court declined to make any order in revision after clarifying the law on disobedience to summons

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that disobedience to a summons issued under section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code constitutes an offence under section 117 of the Penal Code. A summons is an order or command lawfully issued by the court, and failure to obey it is a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment for up to two years. The fact that the Criminal Procedure Code authorizes the issue of a warrant to secure attendance does not affect whether the accused has committed an offence by disobeying the summons. The offence of disobedience is separate and distinct from the original charge.

Outcome

Court declined to make any order in revision after clarifying the law on disobedience to summons

Facts

Three accused persons were duly summoned under section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code to attend court on 25 June 1941 to answer charges of non-payment of Native Hut or Poll Tax. The summonses commanded them in His Majesty's name to appear at Kisumu District Court at 10 a.m. All three accused failed to attend as required. The question arose whether their failure to attend constituted an offence under section 117 of the Penal Code, which makes it a misdemeanour to disobey an order, warrant or command duly made or issued by any court.

Issues

  1. Whether a person summoned to attend court to answer a charge of non-payment of Native Hut or Poll Tax who fails to attend commits an offence under section 117 of the Penal Code.

Orders

  • No order in revision made.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Law & Procedure — Disobedience of Lawful Orders — Failure to Comply with Summons — Penal Code s.117
A person who disobeys a summons issued under section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code to attend court commits an offence under section 117 of the Penal Code, which makes it a misdemeanour to disobey an order, warrant or command duly made, issued or given by any court.
Statutory Interpretation — Penal Code s.117 — Meaning of 'Order' — Summons as Order or Command
A summons issued by a court is an order or command within the meaning of section 117 of the Penal Code. The form of the summons commanding a person in His Majesty's name to appear constitutes a striking illustration of an order or command lawfully issued by the court.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Disobedience of Summons — Relationship Between Warrant Procedure and Criminal Offence
The fact that the Criminal Procedure Code authorizes the issue of a warrant to bring an accused person before the court upon failure to obey a summons does not affect the question whether the accused has committed an offence by disobeying the summons. The issue of a warrant is simply for the purpose of bringing the accused before the court; the disobedience is a separate and distinct offence.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Disobedience of Summons — Penalty and Mode of Proceeding — Penal Code s.117
Under section 117 of the Penal Code, a person who disobeys a summons is liable to imprisonment for two years unless any other penalty or mode of proceeding is expressly prescribed in respect of such disobedience. The penalty is expressly provided by the section and the proceeding against the accused is under that section.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Penal Code s.117
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.88
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.99
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.140
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.144
  • Indian Penal Code s.174

Cases cited (1)

  • Rex v Zonabaliba (L.R. T.T. Supplement No. I of 1941)

Full judgment

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Rex v Okaya and Others (Criminal Revision Cases Nos. 230, 231 and 232 of 1941) [1940] EACA 70 (1 January 1940)
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.