Telling lies in Court
I had a probate case in which my opponent called a witness who lied to the Court and caused judgment to be given in favour of the opponent. Is it allowed to tell lies in Court in the course of giving evidence? What can be done where it is discovered after a person who has given his testimony in Court lied contrary to the oath he took?
SD, Tanga
A person who, in judicial proceedings, knowingly gives false testimony touching any matter which is material to the case is committing an offence called perjury. It does not matter that the testimony was given with or without oath. However, for the Court to convict a person for the offence of perjury for telling lies in court, the evidence against the accused must be supported by more than one witness.
As a general rule, under the Evidence Act, a Court can convict a person on the evidence of one witness alone but where a person is charged with the offence of perjury by telling lies in court, section 105 of the Penal Code demands that the offence should be proved by more than one witness and that Court cannot act solely on the evidence of one witness to convict a person for telling lies in Court.