Criminal Practice and Procedure – sentence – appeal against sentence – grounds that it was harsh and excessive – appellant having been convicted and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment in the trial court – sentence enhanced to 14 years by the superior court on appeal – where the attorney General had not sought the enhancement – maximum sentence being 21 years – mitigating circumstances – manner in which the court will handle appeals on sentence – whether the superior court had been right in enhancing the sentence – Penal Code section 162 (a); Criminal Procedure Code section 354 (3)& (6)

Criminal practice and procedure – sentencing - second appeal against sentence of seven and three years imprisonment for the offence of theft and malicious damage to property  respectively - sentences to run concurrently – appellant’s claim that the sentences imposed  were harsh – whether the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to entertain  second appeal on the ground of severity of  sentence – whether the appeal had merit – Penal Code sections  279(a) 339(1) – Criminal Procedure Code section 361(1) (a)

Criminal Practice and Procedure – sentence – legality of sentence – appellant having been sentenced to life imprisonment with 15 strokes of the cane for a conviction of causing grievous bodily harm - principle upon which the appellate court will act in exercising its jurisdiction to review or alter a sentence imposed by the trial court – corporal punishment having been legal at the time of sentencing but having later been revoked – effect of – Penal Code (Cap 63) section 234

Criminal Procedure – defilement– appeal against conviction and sentence – where there was no record of the prosecution witness being sworn before giving testimony – evidential value of such testimony - whether it was a mandatory requirement in court proceedings that witnesses be sworn.Evidence – child evidence - child of tender years - duty of the court to conduct a voire dire examination – where it was a mandatory requirement for the court to conduct a voire dire examination on a child of tender years – validity of conviction and sentence. – Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act section 19

Criminal practice and procedure – appeal – second appeal – appeal against conviction and sentence on a charge of defilement of a girl – memorandum of appeal failing to raise strictly issues of law – matters dealt with at the second appeal – appellant claiming that the trial was conducted in a language that the he did not understand – whether the appellant was prejudiced by this – Penal Code (Cap 63) section 145(1); Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 75) section 198 Criminal practice and procedure – sentence – appellant claiming sentence of 25 years for defilement was harsh and excessive – court jurisdiction – circumstances under which the appellate court would re-examine sentence – inconsistency in terms of imprisonment – court consideration

Criminal law – appeal – appellant convicted for the offence of defilement – appellant charged under section 8 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act instead of section of 8 (3) of the same Act – whether the framing of the charge occasioned prejudice of failure of justice on the appellant to invalidated the charge - sentence – whether the sentence imposed upon the appellant had questionable legality entitling the appellate court to interfere

Criminal law – appeal – summary rejection of appeal - appeal against the summary rejection of the appeal by the superior court under section 352 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code – grounds upon which a Judge of the High Court can summarily reject an appeal – section 352(2) of Criminal Procedure Code strictly limited to cases where the appeal is brought on the ground that the conviction is against the weight of the evidence, or that the sentence is excessive – the proper course where an appeal against summary rejection of an appeal is allowed

Criminal law – appeal –second appeal – matters to be considered in second appeal – appellant alleging he was denied the informed on the substance of the charge to allow him to prepare for his defence – manner of dealing procedural matters in second appeal – procedural matters not raised at first appeal – conduct of the trial court under section 211 Criminal Procedure Code when the accused is put on his defenceRobbery with violence – ingredients of the offence of robbery with violence– where there is no evidence of stolen property – conviction of offence other than that charged – sections 179 (2), 296 (2) Penal Code

Criminal law - defilement of a girl - second appeal against conviction and sentence of imprisonment for 20 years - second appeal confined to issues of law - whether the conviction was supported by the evidence - Penal Code section 145(1)

Evidence - evidence of a child of tender years - evidence of a child victim of a sexual offence - trial court finding that the witness' evidence was truthful - no need for corroboration in the light of that finding - Evidence Act section 124

Criminal Practice and Procedure - sentencing - offence committed before the coming into force of the Sexual Offences Act - at the time, offence punishable by a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life with hard labour - no remission of sentence available for a prisoner sentenced to life - meaning of life imprisonment - courts should not be inclined to so fundamentally depart from the principles of sentencing obtaining at the time that the offence was committed - whether a sentence of imprisonment for 20 years in substitution of a sentence of imprisonment for life was proper - whether the trial court had been unduly influenced by the Sexual Offences to apply its sentencing principles when it did not apply to the appellant's case - jurisdiction of a second appellate court to interfere with sentence - Prisons Act section 46(1) - Criminal Procedure Code section 361(1)(a) - Sexual Offences Act section 8(2) - Penal Code section 145(1)