Wakilii

Rex v Patel and Another (Criminal Appeal 184-1934.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1935] EACA 76 · 1935 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from conviction for conspiracy to steal
Decision
Appellants' conviction for conspiracy to steal upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal held that an agreement by two or more persons to do an unlawful act may be inferred from evidence of acts, not in themselves unlawful, done by them in pursuance of an apparent criminal purpose. The conviction for conspiracy to steal was upheld. The court found that the only reasonable conclusion from the evidence was that the cases were tampered with before reaching the Customs warehouse, not while in Customs custody, and that the appellants had conspired to systematically steal motor parts from packages they controlled.

Outcome

Appellants' conviction for conspiracy to steal upheld

Facts

The appellants operated Uganda Motor Accessories Mart with headquarters in Kampala and ten branches across Uganda and Tanganyika. In February 1934, approximately 150 cases belonging to the first appellant and stored in Customs warehouses in Kampala were discovered to have been tampered with. About eight tons of motor parts had been removed from the cases, while some uninvoiced parts had been placed in them. The cases had been lying in Customs for over five years. Evidence showed that the appellants took possession of goods from the Railway Station but did not immediately deliver them to Customs, retaining control for one to five days due to lack of coordination between Railway Administration and Customs. The first appellant's books showed he had invoiced out large quantities of goods corresponding to those missing from the tampered cases. No proper books were kept making it impossible to trace the origin of goods invoiced to branches. When cases were opened in the first appellant's presence at the Customs warehouse and found half empty, he showed no interest.

Issues

  1. Whether an agreement to commit conspiracy to steal can be inferred from evidence of acts not in themselves unlawful.
  2. Whether the appellants conspired to steal goods from packages held in the Customs Warehouse in Kampala.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Conviction for conspiracy to steal upheld.

Rules and key headnotes

Conspiracy — Proof of Agreement — Inference from Circumstantial Evidence
An agreement by two or more persons to do an unlawful act may be inferred from evidence of acts, not in themselves unlawful, done by them in pursuance of an apparent criminal purpose in common between them.
Conspiracy — Essential Elements — Agreement Distinguished from Joint Commission
A conspiracy consists not merely in the intention of two or more persons, but in the agreement of two or more to do an unlawful act, or to do a lawful act by unlawful means. The agreement is an act in advancement of the intention which each has conceived in his mind. Not every offence committed by two or more persons constitutes a conspiracy.
Circumstantial Evidence — Standard of Proof — Inference of Guilt
Where the Crown relies on circumstantial evidence to prove conspiracy, the court must consider whether the circumstances are individually and cumulatively consistent with nothing but guilt, and whether any innocent explanation is reasonably possible on the evidence.

Legislation cited (3)

  • Penal Code (Uganda) s.232
  • Penal Code (Uganda) s.337
  • Customs Ordinance s.92(b)

Cases cited (7)

  • R v Brissac (1803) 102 ER 795
  • Mulcahy v The Queen (1868) 3 E & I App 317
  • Quinn v Leatham [1901] AC 495
  • R v Meyrick (1929) 21 Cr App R 94
  • R v Duffield (1851) 5 Cox CC 404
  • R v Parsons (1762) 96 ER 222
  • R v Murphy (1837) 8 C & P 206

Full judgment

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

Rex v Patel and Another (Criminal Appeal 184-1934.) [1935] EACA 76 (1 January 1935)
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.