ISAAC THEOPHILUS AKKUNNA WALLACEJOHNSON
December 11, 1939
WEST AFRICAN COURT OF APPEAL
CORAM
- THE LORD CHANCELLOR (Viscount Caldecote)
- LORD THANKERTON
- LORD ALNESS
- LORD ROMER
- SIR GEORGE RANKIN
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
December 11, 1939
WEST AFRICAN COURT OF APPEAL
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
On a Privy Council appeal by special leave from the West African Court of Appeal, the Board reviewed a sedition conviction arising from the Gold Coast. The appellant had authored and published an article signed Effective in a newspaper circulating in the Colony, attacking colonial administration and referring to measures such as the Criminal Code Amendment Ordinance 1934, Labour Ordinance, the Kofi Sechere Detention and Removal Ordinance 1936, and the Native Administration Ordinance 1936. Tried at Victoriaborg, Accra, before the Chief Justice with assessors, he was convicted under section 330(2)(b) (publishing seditious writing) and 330(2)(e) (possession of seditious documents) and fined a350; no punishment was imposed on the second count. Counsel argued that sedition requires words likely to incite violence and extrinsic proof of intention, relying on R. v. Burns and English and Scottish authorities. The Board held that the Gold Coast Criminal Code is a complete statement of sedition law, defines seditious words by their expression of seditious intention to bring the Government into hatred or contempt, and requires neither proof of likely violence nor extrinsic evidence; the appeal was dismissed.
JUDGMENT OF THE LORDS OF THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL, DELIVERED THE 11TH DECEMBER, 1939 ,
Privy Council, 11th Dec.1939. Privy Council Appeal No. 89 of 1938
This is an appeal by special leave from a judgment of the West African Court of Appeal (Gold Coast Session)· dismissing an appeal by the appellant against his conviction on the 13th October, 1936, by the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast at the Assizes held at Victoriaborg, Accra. The appellant was tried upon an information containing two counts charging him with offences against section 330 of the Criminal Code of the Gold Coast Colony (Chapter 29). The first count charged the appellant with unlawfully publishing a seditious writing of and concerning the Government of the Gold Coast contrary to section 330 (2) (b) of the Criminal Code. The second count charged him with unlawfully having in his possession documents containing· seditious writing of and concerning the Government of the Gold Coast contrary to section 330 (2) (e). The trial took place before the Chief Justice of the Gold Coast Colony sitting with three assessors on the 7th, 8th, 9th, lOth, 12th and 13th October, 1936. The appellant was convicted by the Chief Justice on both counts, and was sentenced to pay a fine of £50 on the first count and, in default of payment within 14 days, to be imprisoned for three months. No punishment was inflicted on the second count.
* Reported at 3 W.A.C.A. p. 104,
The appellant appealed to the West African Court of Appeal against his conviction. - The appeal was heard on the 17th and 18th November and the 1st December, 1936, and was then dismissed.
The appellant petitioned His Majesty in Council for special leave to appeal, and this was granted on the 28th July, 1938.
The writing :which was The subject matter of the charges was part of an article Signed Effective" and published in a newspaper circulating in the Gold Coast Colony. The material words as set out in the information, together with allegations as to the meaning attributable to certain words· and phrases, were as follows:-
"Personally, I believe the European has a God in whom he believes and whom he is representing in his Churches all over Africa. He believes in the god whose name is spelt Deceit. He believes in the god whose law is 'Ye strong, you must weaken the weak. Ye" civilised" Europeans, you must "civilise" the " barbarous" Africans with machine guns. Ye "Christian" Europeans, you must " Christianise" the "pagan" Afric