The accused found the deceased committing adultery with his wife in the bush. The deceased ran away, with the accused chasing him. Then he stopped and hit the accused with a stick on the arm. The accused hit him back on the head with a piece of sugar cane. The two grapple and struggled for some time, and finally the accused, realizing he was losing the battle, took out a pocket knife and stabbed the deceased on the upper arm. The deceased died shortly after, due to excessive bleeding resulting from a severed artery. The accused was charged with manslaughter.
Held: The accused was convicted of manslaughter o his own plea and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. In sentencing, the court remarked: “The learned defence counsel has observed that this case is on the border – line of self –defence and manslaughter. It is certainly a gross provocation to find oneself the victim of adultery and then of an assault by the adulterer. I take into consideration that the deceased was a younger man and may have been stronger than the accused. It would have been a more fact fight had accused continued to use his fists and the stick of sugar cane rather than resorting to hi knife. But the Court can appreciate that his sense of indignity may have been so great that, coupled with his fear of being physically worsted, the accused reacted desperately. He was protecting his honour and the court should be lenient accordingly”.
