Wakilii

Robin v Rex (Cr.. App. 3-1929.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1929] EACA 134 · 1929 Conviction Quashed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from murder conviction in High Court of Nyasaland
Decision
Accused acquitted

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Court of Appeal quashed a murder conviction, holding that the deceased's post-stabbing statement was inadmissible as neither res gestae nor dying declaration. The court further held that evidence of a wife by native custom against her husband is admissible, as the English rule of spousal privilege does not apply to native polygamous marriages. The court found insufficient evidence that the accused intended to kill when he struck the deceased during a drunken altercation.

Outcome

Accused acquitted

Facts

During a drinking party where most attendees were intoxicated, the accused Robin became truculent and quarrelled with a man called Damasco. Others disowned him and took him to his hut multiple times, but he kept returning. On the third occasion, Willem seized Robin from behind and they struggled. The deceased Timothe went to help and received a stab under the collar bone which resulted in his death. After being stabbed, the deceased made a remark variously reported, most credibly as "Look what Robin has done." The prosecution suggested the accused stabbed Timothe in mistake for Damasco. The accused was convicted of murder at trial in the High Court of Nyasaland.

Issues

  1. Whether the deceased's statement after being stabbed was admissible as part of the res gestae or as a dying declaration.
  2. Whether evidence by the accused's wife by native custom was admissible against him.
  3. Whether the accused intended to kill the deceased or any other person when he struck the fatal blow.

Orders

  • Conviction quashed.
  • Accused acquitted.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Res Gestae — Admissibility of Statement Made After Event
A statement made by a deceased person after being stabbed is not admissible as part of the res gestae where it does not form part of the transaction itself.
Evidence — Dying Declaration — Knowledge of Impending Death Required
A statement by a deceased person is not admissible as a dying declaration where there is nothing to show that the deceased knew he was dying at the time the statement was made.
Evidence — Spousal Privilege — Native Customary Marriage — Section 122 Indian Evidence Act
The English rule of non-admissibility of a wife as a witness against her husband does not apply to a native polygamous marriage, and evidence of a wife by native custom against her husband is admissible notwithstanding section 122 of the Evidence Ordinance.
Criminal Law — Murder — Intention to Kill — Struggle and Accidental Blow
Where an accused strikes a fatal blow during a struggle to free himself from another's grasp, the blow may be the result of the struggle rather than an intention to kill, and a murder conviction cannot stand without proof of the requisite intent.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Indian Evidence Act 1872 s.122

Cases cited (3)

  • R v Beddingjield (14 Cox 341)
  • R v Goddard (15 Cox 7)
  • U v Amkeyo (7 EALR 14)

Full judgment

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

Robin v Rex (Cr.. App. 3-1929.) [1929] EACA 134 (1 January 1929)
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.