Lord Atkin.:-

In this case on 8th April 1940, the three appellants were convicted in the High Court of Swaziland by Huggard C.J. of the murder of one Nkalane Vilakazi, and were sentenced to death. On appeal to His Majesty in Council by special leave, their Lordships, on 20th May 1942, intimated that they would recommend that the conviction be set aside and would give their reasons at a later date. This they now proceed to do.

The three appellants, together with the alleged victim, Nkalane, were natives resident in the central district of Swaziland. The case for the Crown was that the three accused, with a fourth man who was also convicted, but is now dead, agreed together to kill Nkalane in order to use certain parts of his body to make "medicine" to increase their crops. One, Mafukufuku, was alleged to be a party to this conspiracy, and he was called as a witness for the Crown and spoke to the agreement to the killing of Nkalane in the presence of the four accused and himself, and to the mutilation of the body. It was alleged that after the killing one Jojosa a "medicine man" was summoned by the first accused to supply some old war medicine for a "body." He was told by the first acc