Documentary Evidence Case Summaries
Documentary Evidence Case Summaries
It was contended that in the absence of the original, the typed record should not be admitted
as evidence.
Held:
(i) The secondary evidence of the original document is admissible provided it can be
established that the original is lost or cannot be produced. Secondary evidence may either be
in the form of a copy of the original or by oral evidence.
(ii) When the original document is in the possession of a stranger, the proper course for
the party desiring to prove the contents of the document is to serve the stranger with a witness
summons to produce the original.
(iii) Before secondary evidence of a lost document can be admitted, the court must be
satisfied that the document cannot be found and an adequate search has been made.
(iv) It is difficult to lay down any general rule as to the degree of diligence necessary in
searching for the original document to entitle the party to give secondary evidence of the
contents. If document be of considerable value, or if there be reason to suspect that the party
not producing it has a strong interest which would induce him to withhold it, a very strict
examination would be required; but if a document is useless, and the party could not have an
interest in keeping it back, a much less strict search would be necessary.
Before secondary evidence of a lost document can be admitted, the court must be satisfied
that the document cannot be found; the question whether an adequate search has been
undertaken is a matter for determination by the court. Mufana, who prepared the original,
said in evidence that the original was lost and, on a second occasion, that he thought that it
had been destroyed. This evidence could hardly be considered adequate to satisfy the trial
court that a proper search had been undertaken and that the original could not be produced
at the trial. Best, J., in Brewster v Sewell (2) at p. 674, said:
Held:
(i) Where the parties have embodied the terms of their contract in a written document,
extrinsic evidence is not generally admissible to add to, vary, subtract from or contradict the
terms of the written contract.
(ii) By way of exception to the above rule, extrinsic evidence may be admitted to show
that the written instrument was not intended to express the whole agreement between the
parties.
(iii) In order to invoke the exception the burden of proof was in this case upon the
plaintiffs.
(iv) Any discussion of verbal conditions before the written agreement was completely
superseded by the written document.
(v) Since the written agreement did not provide that the defendants should provide
transport for the driver the latter had no obligation to do so and the plaintiffs were in
breach of their contract by failing to provide the driver. Their claim for the hire price
therefore failed.
(vi) If a party indicates before the time of the contract that it will not fulfil its obligations
the other party may either repudiate the contract forthwith and sue for damages or wait
until the time of performance and then sue.
(vii) The defendants were justified in repudiating the contract and were entitled to
succeed in their counterclaim.
(viii) As the defendants did not repudiate at the time of performance but delayed
exercising their right until after one month they were entitled to nominal damages only.
Held:
(i) The only way a document may be received in evidence other than by production by
its maker is under the Evidence Act, Cap. 170.
(ii) Before the court can exercise its discretion to admit a statement 40 without the
maker being called as a witness, it must be satisfied that undue delay or expense would
otherwise be caused.