The doctrine of common purpose as it is applied to secondary parties in murder cases
Date
2013-11-29
Authors
Imataa, Kufanga
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Abstract
It is common knowledge that any person that is found to be in a group of criminals must be punished even for the wrongs committed by others whilst acting together. But it has also been understood as a matter of principle that every wrongdoer should be fairly punished, to mean, being punished for the wrongs they did independently, or at least jointly with another perpetrator of the wrong in question. The degree of punishment usually depends on the degree of their involvement in the commission of the crime. Overtime, the courts have been at pain to develop mechanisms through which they would bring to book parties who did not directly commit the offence, commonly known as secondary parties. One such mechanism is the common law doctrine of common purpose and the offence of joint unlawful enterprise which statute has codified under section 22 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia, especially in cases of murder. The purposes of this research it to underscore the doctrine of common purpose as it is applied to secondary parties in murder cases.This study primarily involves a desk research by review of statutory provisions, case law on murder under the offence of joint enterprise, criminal law literature on the offence murder and the doctrine of common purpose, and various internet materials. The paper first introduces the concept of common purpose and the offence of joint unlawful enterprise. It further gives the current status as it concerns the common law doctrine of common purpose in cases of murder, and this includes the state of statutory law on the subject matter. The research further analyses the judicial interpretation of the doctrine of common purpose as it is applied against secondary parties by providing an analytical approach to the Zambian precedents on the subject matter. In so doing, the research outlines the challenges, deficiencies and weaknesses of the law on common purpose evidenced in the decisions of the courts in selected Zambian cases and cases from other jurisdiction where necessary.
The research indicates grey areas of the doctrine of common purpose and the law on joint unlawful enterprises that requires an overhaul for purposes of doing justice in cases concerning secondary parties, especially where death ensues. In the light of the said adequacies of the law, the research identifies workable recommendations which range from mere advice to the people and institutions involved in prosecuting accused parties to recommendations to the legislature to codify and simplify the law on common purpose and the offence of join unlawful enterprise into statutes. The research has also endeavoured to remind the courts and the office of the DPP that their role is not to persecute, but prosecute offenders hence need to be alive to the challenges of the law on the doctrine of common purpose.
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Keywords
Murder- Zambia , Criminal law- Zambia