Murder

Uganda · 2024

Principle established: An appellate court reviews whether a trial judge erred in sentencing for murder, particularly regarding the duration of imprisonment and the circumstances of the offence.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: A judge is not bound to put manslaughter to assessors where the evidence does not support it, and the mere withdrawal of affection does not constitute legal provocation.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2020

Principle established: A trial judge is not bound to put manslaughter to assessors absent evidence legally amounting to provocation, and a partner withdrawing affection does not constitute legal provocation.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: A judge need not direct assessors on manslaughter where there is no evidence to support it, and the withdrawal of romantic affection does not amount to provocation in law.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1963

Principle established: A trial judge need not leave manslaughter to assessors absent evidence supporting it, and the withdrawal of affection does not constitute legal provocation.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: The court examined grounds of appeal involving the failure to record a summing-up, misdirection on self-defence and provocation, and the constitutionality of the mandatory death sentence for murder.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2018

Principle established: The court examined grounds of appeal involving the failure to record a summing-up, misdirection on self-defence and provocation, and the constitutionality of the mandatory death sentence for murder.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: The court examined grounds of appeal involving the failure to record a summing-up, misdirection on self-defence and provocation, and the constitutionality of the mandatory death sentence for murder.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: A judge's omission to expressly direct assessors on the burden of proof will not invalidate a murder conviction if the summing-up as a whole adequately instructs them on reasonable doubt.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: A trial judge's failure to specifically direct assessors that the burden of proof rests on the prosecution does not invalidate a conviction where the summing-up taken as a whole is sufficient.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1976

Principle established: A judge is entitled to strongly express an opinion on the facts provided all issues are ultimately left for the jury to determine.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1976

Principle established: A judge is entitled to strongly express an opinion on the facts provided all issues are ultimately left for the jury to determine.

Zimbabwe · 2024

Principle established: An appellate court may set aside a conviction and sentence for unlawful entry while upholding a conviction for murder based on the specific evidence presented for each count.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1979

Principle established: A trial judge's directions regarding the burden of proof and statements made by an accused must be evaluated in the context of the entire summing-up to determine if any misdirection occurred.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1979

Principle established: A trial judge's directions regarding the burden of proof and statements made by an accused must be evaluated in the context of the entire summing-up to determine if any misdirection occurred.

Malawi · 2023

Principle established: Every person has a constitutional right to be released from custody on bail unless the interests of justice require otherwise, particularly where trial dates have not been set.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2006

Principle established: An appellate court may quash a conviction and death sentence for murder and substitute a conviction for manslaughter with an appropriate term of imprisonment accounting for custody time.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1976

Principle established: A trial judge must explain legal definitions such as malice aforethought in simple terms and apply them to the facts rather than merely reproducing textbook definitions.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1976

Principle established: An appellate court will not overturn a conviction due to a misdirection on provocation if it is satisfied that the jury would inevitably have reached the same verdict upon proper direction.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1976

Principle established: An appellate court will not overturn a conviction due to a misdirection on provocation if it is satisfied that the jury would inevitably have reached the same verdict upon proper direction.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1976

Principle established: A trial judge must explain legal definitions such as malice aforethought in simple terms and apply them to the facts rather than merely reproducing textbook definitions.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1964

Principle established: Where provocation reduces murder to manslaughter, a third party cannot be convicted of aiding and abetting the resulting homicide.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: Where the defence of provocation reduces a killing from murder to manslaughter, a third party cannot be convicted of aiding and abetting the provoked crime.

Uganda · 2024

Principle established: A second appeal against conviction for murder will be dismissed if the appellate court finds the evidence sufficient to support the findings of the lower courts.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: Proof that the accused intended to cause at least grievous bodily harm to the deceased warrants a conviction for murder based on malice aforethought.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1962

Principle established: Malice aforethought can be established even if formed only an extremely short space of time before the commission of the fatal act.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1962

Principle established: Malice aforethought for murder may exist even where it is formed only for a very brief duration before the act.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1973

Principle established: A person who counsels an offence and is present at its execution is a principal; an accessory remains liable if the principal departs from the common design only in manner or time.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: An accessory who solicits an offence remains guilty if the principal departs from the common design only as to time, place, or manner, but not if the principal wilfully commits a substantially different offence.

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.

Kenya · 2025

Principle established: Battered woman syndrome is not a stand-alone legal defense but may be raised in aid of existing defenses, with the burden on the defense to establish its existence and extent.

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 · 1964-66

Principle established: A defendant's admission of having killed a person is not necessarily a plea of guilty to murder; the accused must understand the nature and legal effect of the charge before pleading.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1964

Principle established: A guilty plea to a killing does not automatically constitute a plea of guilty to murder; the court must ensure the accused fully understands the charge.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An intention to inflict grievous bodily harm satisfies the mental element of malice aforethought required for murder.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An intention to inflict at least grievous bodily harm upon the deceased suffices to sustain a finding of murder with malice aforethought.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: Evidence showing an intention to inflict at least grievous bodily harm is sufficient to establish malice aforethought in a murder trial.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1979

Principle established: It is a fatal misdirection for a trial judge to characterize an accused person's admission of causing injury as a confession to the crime of murder when the defence is accident.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1964

Principle established: Mere knowledge of a murder without actual participation or counselling is insufficient to support a criminal conviction as an accomplice.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: Mere knowledge that a murder is being or has been committed, absent actual participation, counselling, or encouragement, is insufficient to support a conviction for complicity.