Section 33 of Evidence Act CAP 80: Statement by deceased person, etc., when

    

Statements, written or oral, of admissible facts made by a person who is dead, or who cannot be found, or who has become incapable of giving evidence or whose attendance cannot be procured, or whose attendance cannot be procured, without an amount of delay or expense which in the circumstances of the case appears to the court unreasonable, are themselves admissible in the following cases—
(a) relating to cause of death
when the statement is made by a person as to the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted
in his death, in cases in which the cause of that person’s death comes into question. Such statements are admissible whether the person who made them was or was not, at the time when they were made, under expectation of death, and whatever may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into question;
(b) made in the course of business
when the statement was made by such person in the ordinary course of business, and in particular when it consists of an entry or memorandum made by him in books or records kept in the ordinary course of business or in the discharge of professional duty; or of an acknowledgement written or signed by him of the receipt of money, goods, securities or property of any kind; or of a document used in commerce, written or signed by him, or of the date of a letter or other document usually dated, written or signed by him;
(c) against the interest of maker
when the statement is against the pecuniary or proprietary interest of the person making it, or when, if true, it would expose him or would have exposed him to a criminal prosecution or to a suit for damages;
(d) an opinion as to public right or custom
when the statement gives the opinion of any such person as to the existence of any public right or custom or matter of public or general interest, of the existence of which, if it existed, he would have been likely to be aware, and when such statement was made before any controversy as to such right, custom or matter had arisen;
(e) relating to existence of relationship
when the statement relates to the existence of any relationship by blood, marriage, or adoption between persons at whose relationship by blood, marriage or adoption the person making the statement had special means of knowledge, and when the statement was
made before the question in dispute was raised;
(f) relating to family affairs
when the statement relates to the existence of any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption between persons deceased, and is made in any will or deed relating to the affairs of the family to which any such deceased person belonged, or in any family pedigree or upon any tombstone, family portrait or other thing on which such statements are usually made, and when such statement was made
before the question in dispute was raised;
(g) relating to a transaction creating or asserting, etc., a custom when the statement is contained in any deed or other document which relates to any such transaction as is mentioned in section 13(a);
(h) made by several persons and expressing feelings when the statement was made by a number of persons, and expressed feelings or impressions on their part relevant to the matter in question.


Disclaimer: This document is not to be taken as legal advise.

Enhance Your Research with Bookmarks and Annotations

Here's how you can use these features:

  • To bookmark this page, click the "Bookmark this Page" button below the document title.
  • To add an annotation, highlight text in the document and select "Add Annotation" from the toolbar that appears.
  • These features are great for organizing your research and keeping track of key information.
  • You can view and manage your bookmarks and annotations on your Bookmarks and Annotations page.

Cited By:



More Sections