R. v. Mussa s/o Gungachuma Panga Masasi, Crim. Sass. 159-D-68, 21/10/68, Georges C. J.

R. v. Mussa s/o Gungachuma Panga Masasi, Crim. Sass. 159-D-68, 21/10/68, Georges C. J.

Accused was charged with murder and he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which plea was accepted. Returning from a pombe party one night, the accused met on the path his elder brother, with whom he was on bad terms. The brother apparently abused him, using the word “nyoka”, and attacked him with an axe. The accused snatched the axe away from him, and following him, beat him with a billhook. The brother died from the blows.

            Held: Accused was convicted on his own plea and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. The court stated before sentencing; “I do not think in this case you were defending yourself at all. If a man throws an axe at you and runs away, then you can let him go, because he is running away, and he no longer has an axe, so he is incapable of any longer launching an attack on you. And I find it difficult to see how one can hope to hit another human being with a billhook and not run the risk of seriously injuring him or killing him. It is a deadly instrument … The only reason why I can accept a plea of guilty to manslaughter in this case is the fact that in throwing an axe at you and lying in wait for you, he was acting in a provocative manner, especially in circumstances where you must have had a considerable amount of drink.”