R v Mohammed Riasat Malik
[2024] EWCA Crim 292
R v Olukunle Ajani Afolabi
16 February 2024
[2024] EWCA Crim 249
Court of Appeal
A man was convicted of stabbing someone. He tried to use evidence that the victim had later stabbed *him* to get his conviction overturned. The court said that evidence wasn't important enough and the video evidence of the stabbing was enough to convict him. His appeal failed.
Key Facts
- •Olukunkle Ajani Afolabi (applicant) convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (s.18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861).
- •Incident involved a stabbing of Ishmail Gahre (victim) following an altercation outside Lucy Njogore's address.
- •Applicant claimed self-defence, stating the victim initially possessed the knife.
- •Prosecution relied on CCTV, victim's injuries, eyewitness accounts, and a knife found in Njogore's kitchen.
- •Applicant's trial counsel sought to admit evidence of a subsequent stabbing of the applicant by the victim, four months later.
- •Judge refused admission of this evidence as non-defendant bad character evidence under s.100(1)(b) Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Legal Principles
Admission of non-defendant bad character evidence under s.100(1)(b) Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires evidence of substantial probative value in relation to a matter in issue and of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole.
Criminal Justice Act 2003, s.100(1)(b)
The trial judge is in the best position to assess the admissibility of evidence in the context of the case.
Case Law (implicit)
Outcomes
Appeal against conviction refused.
The judge's refusal to admit the subsequent stabbing evidence was justified. The evidence lacked substantial probative value and risked undue satellite litigation. The CCTV evidence and other prosecution evidence overwhelmingly supported the conviction.
Loss of time order made: 28 days deducted from sentence.
To protect court resources and ensure they are spent on meritorious cases.