Admissibility

Ghana · 2025

Principle established: New evidence will not be allowed on appeal unless the court is satisfied that, with due diligence, the evidence was not available to the party during the original trial.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2021

Principle established: An appellate court may allow the introduction of new evidence if it is relevant, credible, and could not have been reasonably obtained during the original proceedings.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: A statutory declaration of title is not registrable as an instrument under the Registration of Instruments Act and cannot be admitted where the law requires an oath, affirmation, or affidavit.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2016

Principle established: The right to cross-examine a deponent on their affidavit is an incidental of the rule of natural justice, allowing parties to test the evidence presented in support of an application.

Kenya · 2024

Principle established: Additional evidence will not be admitted in the Supreme Court if it was within the knowledge of and available to the parties at the time of the original trial.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1953

Principle established: In a homicide trial, dying declarations and spontaneous statements made during the commission of the crime forming part of the res gestae are admissible to identify the offender and prove cause of death.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1967-68

Principle established: A confession made by one accused is admissible evidence only against himself and cannot be used by the jury against a co-accused.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1967

Principle established: A confession or extra-judicial statement made by one accused is admissible only against its maker and must not be used as evidence against a co-accused.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2017

Principle established: The rule against hearsay applies to internet evidence and documents, requiring an analysis of authenticity and whether the statement is offered to prove the truth of its contents.

Uganda · 2025

Principle established: In a criminal appeal, the court must evaluate whether procedural irregularities in the investigation or the exclusion of relevant evidence, such as phone records, affected the safety of the conviction.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1984

Principle established: A trial judge must conduct a voir dire to establish voluntariness when a statement's admissibility is challenged, and statutory language providing that an offender 'shall be liable' confers discretionary rather than mandatory sentencing power.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1961

Principle established: A criminal conviction must be quashed where a deposition was wrongfully admitted into evidence and it is uncertain whether the defendant would have been convicted without it.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: The court considered the correct application of equitable rules to land re-surveys and the admissibility of additional evidence in the form of receipts during an appeal.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: The court considered the correct application of equitable rules to land re-surveys and the admissibility of additional evidence in the form of receipts during an appeal.