CONFESSIONS

LAW OF EVIDENCE PART 1

ADVOCATE MUGERO JESSE
OBJECTIVES OF THE SESSION

 Understand what a confession is

 Appreciate the ingredients of a Confession
 Understand Process of recording a Statement
 Appreciate Section 24- 27 of the Evidence Act

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CONFESSION

 A confession is an admission in whole or in part, by an accused person. (Oxford Dictionary of Law)

 The confession is adverse to the party who made it wholly or in part.

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INGREDIENTS OF A CONFESSION

1. A confession is an unequivocal admission to having committed an act in law that amounts to a crime and must
admit either admit in terms of the offence or all the facts that constitute the offence. Reference to Uganda v
Yosamu Matahanzo (1988-90) HCB 4, also the case of Swami v Emperor (1939) 1 ALLER 396 where the principle
was confirmed that a confession must either admit in terms the offence or all the facts which constitute the
offence.

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 1. An admission of a gravely incriminating or even conclusively incriminating fact is not in itself a confession.
For example, if an accused person admits that he owned a firearm at the scene of murder of someone, this
does not mean that he has confessed to the murder of the deceased. Therefore, a confession must be an
equivocal admission of have committed an act which in law amounts to a crime and must either admit in
terms the offence or at any rate substantially all the facts which constitute the offence. In the case of Gopa
and Others v Republic (1953) 20 EACA 318, it was stated that the accused’s extra judicial statement was
exculpatory in the sense that it explained the act of stabbing and therefore the blame on the deceased
person. The Judicial Officer further stated that a confession is a direct acknowledgment of guilt on the part
of the accused which is sufficient to convict him.

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 1. A confession must be admitted as a whole. If it contains some parts that are inadmissible then it cannot be
taken as a confession. In the case of Uganda v Yosefu Nyabenda (1972) 11 ULR 19, the Judicial Officer
poignantly stated that the court was to receive the confession of the accused as a whole and not in several
parts and since it contained lies and half-truths, then the confession could not be admitted as a true one. A
confession has to be taken as a whole although not to be believed as a whole. Also, refer to the case of
Uganda v Sebuguzi & Others (1988-1990) HCB 18.

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  Self Exculpatory Matters

 It is a matter adopted or intended to free the maker from blame for the act admitted in the confession.
Reference to the case of Swami v Emperor and Uganda v Kamalawo & others (1983) HCB 25

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  Retraction of Confessions

 An accused person can retract or repudiate a confession. A retracted confession occurs when an
accused makes a statement or a confession which he later seeks to take back on the ground that
he either made it out of mistake or did not do it voluntarily. Reference should be made to section
24 to 27 of the Evidence Act. The retraction of a confession occurs in two ways:
1. BY clear and positive express repudiation
2. By implication

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  The general rule regarding repudiated and retracted confessions is that the confessions are admissible in
evidence provided the court is satisfied that the confession was made voluntarily. In the case of Tuwamoi v
Uganda (1967) EA 84, the Court said that there is no clear distinction between repudiated and retracted
statements and fir any of them to be accepted court, It should be done with great caution and the court
should first satisfy itself that all circumstances surrounding the confession do not negate it. To amount to a
retracted confession, the accused person admits having made the statement but he now wishes to take it
back on the ground that it was made involuntarily whereas a repudiated confession is a statement which
the accused person avers he never made.

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  What happens when someone has retracted or when the accused denies the confession or challenges its
admissibility?
 IF the confession is denied by the accused person, then the Judge should conduct a trial within a trial. Refer
to case of Major John Kazoora v Uganda (1994)1 KALR 143. The purpose of a trial within a trial is to decide
upon the evidence of both sides as to whether the confession should be admitted. A voluntary statement is
one made absolutely free from inducement or influence of whatever nature.
 Section 25 of the Evidence Act gives an exception to the general rule of involuntariness. The confessions
referred to in Section 24, if made after the impression caused by any such inducement, threat or promise
has been in the opinion of the court fully removed when it is irrelevant. Refer to case of Dau v R (1962) EA
9.

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  Inducements and threats are governed by Section 24 of the Evidence Act. The section is to the effect that
the confession made by an accused person is irrelevant if taking into account the state of mind and the
circumstances surrounding the confession, if it was caused by violence, threats, force, inducement or
promise calculated in the opinion of the court to cause an untrue confession.
 The exception to section 24 is found in section 26 of the Evidence Act. Under section 26, confessions
otherwise relevant do not become irrelevant because of promise of secrecy, deception, drunkenness or
failure to be warned that such a person was not bound to make a confession.
 Under section 27, the general rule is that an accused person’s confession can be used against his co
accused.

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THE PROCESS OF TAKING A CONFESSION

 Favorable circumstances

 The accused person must feel free at the time when he is asked to make the confession. There must be caution
administered. You must ascertain the language in which the confession is to be made reason being, one may
require an interpreter. Language is also important because the confession ids taken down verbatim.

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  The statement should be read back to confirm after it has been recorded. After confirmation, the accused is
asked to sign or thumbprint as a sign of approval. The person down the confession should also sign the date
of the confession and if it is a magistrate, it may be prudent that they use a court seal. It is important to
note that in this session, the accused should not be cross examined.

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