The District Court fines far more people than it imprisons, and a good many of those it imprisons are there because they could not pay. The Act sets out exactly how a fine turns into custody and how custody can be avoided or shortened.
Every fine has a default term
Notwithstanding anything in any other law, where a fine or costs is adjudged by a conviction to be paid, payment shall be enforced by imprisonment, except where the conviction is against a corporation (s 167(1)).
Where a Court by a conviction adjudges the payment of a fine or costs, it shall impose a term of imprisonment in default of payment. If the law under which the conviction is made directs a term, the conviction is framed accordingly; if not, the term may be any the Court thinks fit not exceeding the time specified in Section 201 (s 168).
Where the sum adjudged to be paid, including costs, does not exceed K50.00: not more than 14 days. Exceeds K50.00 but not K200.00: not more than 28 days. Exceeds K200.00: not more than 60 days.
The default term is part of the sentence and is announced with it. A defendant who thinks it too long should say so before the Court rises. The Manual points out that section 200(2), which lets the Court impose a fine of up to K200 where the offence provision allows only imprisonment, forbids a default term longer than the imprisonment the offender was liable to in the first place.
Time to pay and instalments
Where by a conviction or order a fine or sum of money or costs is ordered to be paid, the Court may (a) allow time for the payment; (b) direct payment by instalments; and (c) direct that the person liable may give security for the payment. If default is made in an instalment, proceedings may be taken to recover the amount then remaining due.
Ask for time at sentence. A magistrate who knows the defendant is a subsistence farmer or an unemployed youth will usually allow weeks or months, and regulation 14 sets up the Instalment Book in which each payment is recorded. Section 172 separately allows a Court asked to issue a warrant of commitment to postpone it on conditions. See payment by instalments.
The warrant of commitment
If the fine is not paid within the time allowed, section 168(4) lets a magistrate issue a warrant of commitment on being satisfied of the default, and section 169 makes the Clerk’s certificate of non-payment sufficient evidence of it. Section 170 requires the warrant to order imprisonment for the time the conviction directs unless the sum is sooner paid. The warrant is executed by the police under section 274 and may be executed anywhere in the country under section 10. Section 87 requires the prisoner to be delivered with the warrant and a receipt taken.
Part payment shortens the term
Where a default term is imposed and part of the fine or costs is paid, the term is reduced by a number of days bearing, as nearly as possible, the same proportion to the total term as the sum paid bears to the sum adjudged (s 202(1)). Payment may be made to the Clerk or to the officer in charge of the institution, who endorses the reduction on the warrant (s 202(2), (4)).
A defendant detained under a warrant of commitment may pay the sum to the officer in charge, who shall receive it and discharge the defendant if held for no other matter (s 203). Conversely, where the sum is later paid or levied, it is deemed reduced in proportion to the imprisonment served (s 204).
| Fine | Default term | Paid | Term to serve |
|---|---|---|---|
| K400 | 60 days | K200 (half) | 30 days |
| K400 | 60 days | K300 (three quarters) | 15 days |
| K400 | 60 days | K400 after 20 days served | Released; fine deemed reduced by one third under s 204 |
Family members who can raise part of the money after the defendant has been taken in should pay it to the Clerk or the gaol and ask for the certificate under section 202(3); the reduction is a right, not a favour.
Fines against a company
Section 167(2) provides that a fine against a corporation operates as an order for payment of money and is enforced under section 173 by warrant of execution against its goods, not by imprisoning anyone. See warrants of execution.
Where the money goes
Section 176 requires a fine paid to a police officer to be passed to the Clerk without delay, and section 177 requires the Clerk to apply it first to costs ordered to a party, then as the conviction directs, then as the law creating the offence directs or, failing that, to the Secretary for Finance. Section 205 requires exact accounts. The Manual notes that costs against a defendant are not intended as a contribution to police salaries or court running costs.
Alternatives to a fine you cannot pay
A magistrate must take the offender’s means into account when fixing a fine. Where the defendant plainly cannot pay, the Court can consider a community work order under section 199A, a conditional discharge under section 132, or probation. Those options exist precisely to avoid turning poverty into imprisonment, and the time to raise them is before the fine is fixed, because afterwards the magistrate is functus officio.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.