Law_of_Evidence_in_Kenya
CHARACTER EVIDENCEIntroductionThe Osos Coise la ditioay defies haate eidee as eidee elatig to thegood or the bad character of a witness. The evidence act of Kenya recognizes that the wordcharacter includes reputation and disposition. 24 Disposition has been defined as the tendency ofa person, especially the accused, to act in a particular way 25 while reputation as the estimationin which a person is generally held. 26Oe a tell a pesos disposition through observingthat person, that is, how are they likely to behave in a particular circumstance. Reputation onthe other hand is more specific than disposition; it refers to the general estimation with which aperson is held. For instance you may have a reputation of being a liar and people will perceiveyou as someone who lies. These will be people with whom you work with or even know yougenerally. With disposition, you have no control over, you could try but a lot has to do withwhat one is predisposed to but with reputation it the way people perceive you. As AbrahamLiol stated, dispositio is the tee hile eputatio is the tees shado.Relevance of Character Evidence The law assumes that there is a link between character and credibility.A pesoshaate a theefoe ifluee a outs deisio. Character evidence helps the Court gauge the credibility of a witness. A court is unlikelyto place great faith on a witness who has a record of previous conviction.On the otherhand,the prosecution can employ bad character evidence to prove quilt rather that thecredibility. On the side of an accused ,good character,if adduced,will seek to convince the courtthat the accused is unlikely to have commited the offence because it is not in hisdisposition and reputation.On the other hand, evidence of bad character will beadduced in court in a bid to convince the court that it is in the accused character tocommit such a crime.24 Section 58 of the Evidence act of Kenya25 Oxford dictionary of law 2 nd Edition.26 (n2 above)
Character Evidence in Kenyan LawThe law on character evidence seems to be unclear and confusing. The Kenyan courts havenever clearly decided whether it is anchored on the general view of the community or theintimate knowledge of one person to another. 27 However, development of character evidencecan be traced to English law. The first meaning can be traced to ‘otos 28 case in which theouts deisio euates haate eidee to eputatio. Hoee, it disegads the fat thatthee is a hae that oes eputatio is shaped y aliious gossip o uour. Further, at thattime, people lived in a closely knit society where you could know what your neighbour wasdoing. The second legal meaning of character is adopted from observable personal traits suchas generosity, introvert or courageous while the third and most recent is equated withparticularized acts ,specific conducts and previous convictions.All the meanings,however,ignorethe fact that what one person thinks is good character,another might term it as extremelybad. 29In R V. Rowtown (1865) the accused was charged with indecent assault and gave evidence ofhis good moral character. To rebut this evidence, a person was called to testify and he said thathe had no knowledge of the eighohoods opinion but he was of the opinion of the grossestindecency and immorality. He also said that this was also the opinion the accused brothers. Theout held that it as ot adissile eause it as ased o itesss o opiio as opposedto the ouitys opiio. Hoee the dissetig judges ee of the opinion that it shouldhae ee aditted sie it as ased o the itesss koledge of aused athe tha thatof the community.27 Republic v Rowtown (1865)28 (n 4 above)29 Queti Cisp, The Naked Civil Servant (1968)
- Page 1 and 2: CORROBORATION1.0 OVERVIEWCorroborat
- Page 3 and 4: The definition above confines corro
- Page 5 and 6: accused had been charged for indece
- Page 7 and 8: IDENTIFICATION CASES; this is where
- Page 9 and 10: tribunals are, with rare exceptions
- Page 11 and 12: 8.3 Where corroboration is not requ
- Page 13 and 14: given before the court was not enou
- Page 15: Sexual Offences Act No 3 of 2006G.B
- Page 19 and 20: evidence of a fact or directly rele
- Page 21 and 22: person can be questioned on his pre
- Page 23 and 24: offence with which the defendant is
- Page 25 and 26: OPINION EVIDENCEAn opinion is a vie
- Page 27 and 28: some professional or technical matt
- Page 29 and 30: Experts are brought by the parties
- Page 31 and 32: Opinion evidence is not binding to
- Page 33 and 34: Section 50 (1) of the Evidence Act
- Page 36: REFERENCESAllen, C. (2008). Practic
Character Evidence in Kenyan Law
The law on character evidence seems to be unclear and confusing. The Kenyan courts have
never clearly decided whether it is anchored on the general view of the community or the
intimate knowledge of one person to another. 27 However, development of character evidence
can be traced to English law. The first meaning can be traced to ‘otos 28 case in which the
outs deisio euates haate eidee to eputatio. Hoee, it disegads the fat that
thee is a hae that oes eputatio is shaped y aliious gossip o uour. Further, at that
time, people lived in a closely knit society where you could know what your neighbour was
doing. The second legal meaning of character is adopted from observable personal traits such
as generosity, introvert or courageous while the third and most recent is equated with
particularized acts ,specific conducts and previous convictions.All the meanings,however,ignore
the fact that what one person thinks is good character,another might term it as extremely
bad. 29
In R V. Rowtown (1865) the accused was charged with indecent assault and gave evidence of
his good moral character. To rebut this evidence, a person was called to testify and he said that
he had no knowledge of the eighohoods opinion but he was of the opinion of the grossest
indecency and immorality. He also said that this was also the opinion the accused brothers. The
out held that it as ot adissile eause it as ased o itesss o opiio as opposed
to the ouitys opiio. Hoee the dissetig judges ee of the opinion that it should
hae ee aditted sie it as ased o the itesss koledge of aused athe tha that
of the community.
27 Republic v Rowtown (1865)
28 (n 4 above)
29 Queti Cisp, The Naked Civil Servant (1968)
Change language