Rex v Akope and Another
Rex v Akope and Another (Criminal Appeals Nos. 115 and 116 of 1947) [1947] EACA 39 (1 January 1947)
The Court held that the appellants' belief that the deceased had caused their relative's death by witchcraft could not reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter. The provocation was not sudden, as the appellants had believed for several days that the deceased was bewitching their relative. Furthermore, the belief in witchcraft was not based on any physical act by the deceased in the presence of the appellants, but rather on a metaphysical suspicion. The law requires that provocation be both sudden and based on a wrongful act or insult done in the presence of the accused or their close rela…
Source excerpt
- Provocation
- Witchcraft Defence
- Manslaughter
- Murder
- Suddenness Requirement
- Reasonable Belief