Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Admissibilty & Relevance of Evidence Cases
Admissibilty & Relevance of Evidence Cases
Nkrumah V R.
The police went into a house of the accused without a search warrant and in the process of the search;
some incriminating articles were found in his possession and tendered in as evidence. The accused
argued that such evidence should not be admitted because it was illegally obtained and on appeal to the
Privy Council it was held that method of obtaining evidence is irrelevant and that what is important is
that the admissible evidence is obtained.
RES GESTAE.
R V Kurji.
The accused had stabbed the brother of the deceased and had uttered threats against the deceased.
Immediately afterwards, he was seen in the go down of an immediate shop standing over the deceased
holding a dagger. It was held that the two circumstances wee so interconnected that the wounding o
stabbing of the deceased's brother must be regard as part of the res gestae in the trial of the accused in
the murder of the deceased. Further that this evidence was admissible even though it tended to lead to
the commission of another offence.
Facts Which are the Occasion, Cause or Effect of the Facts in Issue
R V Brabin Khosla
Appellants convicted of corrupt practices. The particulars of the offence were that they, being person
employed by the commodity board, obtained a sum of money from Hasham Kara, for bearing to shun
disfavor to him in relation to the affairs of the commodity board. The prosecution successfully adduced
evidence of previous corrupt transactions by the appellants with Hasham Kara five moths before. The
issue was whether previous evidence of corrupt transactions by the appellant with Hasham Kara was
admissible. It was held that the previous corrupt transaction evidence of the same parties was
admissible. There was some definite nexus between the previous similar offence and the offence
charged. Applying that principle, to the present case, it might exclude as inadequate and inadmissible
evidence of exactly similar offences committed by the accused in the transaction with other people
other than Hasham Kara.
John Makindi V R
The appellant was convicted for manslaughter of a boy for whom he stood in loco parentis by beating
him so severely that he died. At the trial, the appellant had raised a defense to the effect that the boy
was epileptic and so had suffered these injuries in the course of an epileptic attack. The prosecution had
then adduced evidence of previous severe beatings of the deceased by the appellant in order to rebut his
defense the issue was whether that evidence was admissible and section 6 of the Act as explaining
substantiating the cause of death as well as under sections 7 and 13 (now 8 and 14) showing the motive
Harris V DPP
A series of thefts having common characteristics occurred in an office in an enclosed market at times
when the gates were shut and on occasions where the accused police officer was on duty in the market.
The precise time of only one of those breakings was known and the accused had been found in the
immediate vicinity. The accused was charged with eight breaking thefts but acquitted on seven counts
and convicted on the eighth. The issue on appeal; was whether the seven counts should have been
admitted or proved and it was held that as regards the eighth breaking, evidence of the pervious seven
breakings would have to be excluded because they occurred at a time when it had not been proved that
he was near the office. Court went on to say that the proper rule as laid down in Makin V New South
Wales. The proper rule is that evidence tending to show that the accused has been guilty of criminal
offences other than the one he's being tried is inadmissible unless certain evidence is relevant to the
issue before court as for example it bears on the question whether the acts alleged to constitute the
offense were designed, accidental or if it rebuts an offense which will otherwise be open to the accused.
R V Ball
This was a case of incest between brother and sister. Evidence of their previous conduct was raised and
they objected to the admissibility of such evidence. Court held that such evidence was relevant as it
tried to rebut the fact that the accused were innocent and of good character.
Uganda V Barinda
The accused was indicted for kidnapping with intent to murder. Evidence showed that the deceased as
he was being served with a drink at a party was called away by the accused towards the trading centre
where he was attacked by the accused along with others and dragged near the bush and was never seen
again. It was held that there was evidence both circumstantial and direct to the effect that the death of
Uganda V Kasya
The accused was indicted for murder; evidence was relayed to show that on the evening of the
deceased's death, the accused had been seen in company of the deceased. Evidence was also led to
show that the deceased's body had been found about half a mile from the accused's residence that she
had first been raped before being strangled and graduated tax tickets belongs to the accused were found
some meters from the body and the accused upon arrest was found wearing blood stained trousers. The
accused raised the defense of alibi and it was held that where the accused arises an alibi, he does not
thereby assume the burden to prove it, the burden rests on the prosecution to disprove or destroy that
the evidence against the accused was purely circumstantial and did not irresistibly point to the guilt of
the accused because there are other co-existing circumstances which would weaken or destroy the
inference. Further that the prosecution had failed to destroy the accused's alibi by putting him at the
scene of eth murder.
Roria V R
As a result of a dawn armed raid of Masai land in 1966, a people were killed including the deceased of
whose death, the appellant was charged and convicted of murder. Fourteen days after the rid, the wife
Karanja V R
The appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery; he was identified by the victim at an identification
parade. He raised the defense of alibi and argued that evidence of identification was unsafe or
unsustainable. Court held that subject to certain exceptions, it is very vital that a fact may be proved by
the testimony of a single witness but this rule does not lessen the need for testing with the greatest of
care. The evidence of a single witness regarding identification especially where it is known that the
conditions favoring identification we difficult. In such a case, what is needed is other corroborating
evidence whether direct or circumstantial.
Njiru V R
The appellant were charged with aggravated robbery. Evidence adduced was that the complainant who
claimed to have seen them cut off power supply. There was also voice identification by one of them and
the complainant also calmed that the robbers had spoken to them and he could register the appellant's
voice. An identification parade had been carried out and on a plea, the court held;
1. Where an identification parade is to be carried out, the requirement in respect to the members of the
parade is subject; they should be of eth same age, height appearance, class of life as the suspect and
not that they should be identical. in respect of eth first accused, there was no need to find people
with similar swellings as the first accused had on his side of the face although if it was possible it
would have a commendable thing to do.
2. Where a witness says that apart from visual identification of the suspect he has also been identified
by voice, the witness should be allowed to confirm that. There was nothing objectionable in a
witness requesting for parade members to shout for him, so that he could satisfy himself that he
does not make nay mistake identifying the particular suspect.
R V Smith
The appellant was indicted for the murder of a wife who was found drowned in a bath tab, it had been
made to look like she died in an epileptic fit. It was also established that on previous occasions other
mistresses had died in similar circumstances after making favorable financial statements to the
appellant, it was held that those past similar acts could be admitted to show that the death was not an
accident.