People often assume the District Court can only hand out small fines. It can imprison for years. The limits come from three sources: the statute creating the offence, the ten-year ceiling for Schedule 2 offences, and the rules about default imprisonment.
The maximum in the offence provision
A penalty prescribed for an offence is the maximum penalty, and a lesser penalty may be imposed.
For a simple offence the ceiling is whatever the section creating it says. The Summary Offences Act penalties were substantially increased by the 2018 amendments, and several now exceed 12 months; section 2A keeps them simple offences nonetheless. Constitution section 37(7) adds that no penalty may exceed the maximum that applied when the offence was committed, so an increase enacted afterwards does not apply to earlier conduct.
The ten-year cap for Schedule 2 offences
Where a Schedule 2 charge is dealt with summarily and the maximum penalty provided in this Code for that offence is imprisonment for a term exceeding 10 years, the maximum penalty which may be imposed by a Principal Magistrate is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Code.
The cap applies to the sentence for each charge. Where a defendant is convicted of several Schedule 2 offences at once, each attracts its own maximum, and the question whether the terms run concurrently or cumulatively is a sentencing question for the magistrate, subject to the totality principle that the National Court applies on appeal. A magistrate who suspects at the outset that the case will exceed the cap should say so early, because once the Court has convicted it is functus officio and cannot then send the case up for a heavier sentence.
So stealing, which carries three years under section 372(1) of the Code, is punishable by up to three years in the District Court; break and enter of a dwelling under section 395, which carries life, is punishable by up to ten years. If the facts deserve more than ten years, section 23 of the District Courts Act obliges the magistrate to abstain and commit.
Fines
| Situation | Power |
|---|---|
| Offence provision prescribes a fine | Up to that amount |
| Criminal Code offence expressed only in imprisonment | Code s 19 allows a fine instead of, or in addition to, imprisonment; the Magistrates’ Manual gives the ceiling as K2,000 |
| Summary offence with no power to fine at all | District Courts Act s 200(2): a fine not exceeding K200 if justice would be better met by a fine than imprisonment, unless a minimum term is prescribed |
| Recognizance and sureties required by the offence provision | s 200(1): the Court may dispense with the requirement wholly or in part |
Imprisonment in default of a fine
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 (s 168(1)). If the law creating the offence fixes the term, the conviction follows it; if not, the term may not exceed the scale in s 201(2):
sum not exceeding K50 — 14 days; exceeding K50 but not K200 — 28 days; exceeding K200 — 60 days.
Section 202 reduces the term proportionately if part of the fine is paid, and section 204 reduces the fine proportionately for time served. Corporations cannot be imprisoned; under section 167(2) a fine against a corporation is enforced as a civil debt. See what happens if I cannot pay a fine.
Other orders that add to a sentence
A sentence in the District Court can include more than prison and a fine. Section 205B allows restriction of movement for up to five years, section 199A allows community work for up to three months, and the Criminal Law (Compensation) Act 1991 requires the Court to consider compensation to the victim. Section 421(2) of the Code allows restitution of stolen property or its value, with its own default scale running up to twelve months. These are covered in the sentencing group of this series.
Children
A juvenile sentenced under the Juvenile Justice Act 2014 is dealt with under Part IX of that Act, which restricts custodial sentences and forbids certain punishments altogether; a court of summary jurisdiction exercising Juvenile Court jurisdiction under section 19 may make any order under section 80 other than custody or imprisonment. See can the District Court try a child.
Challenging a sentence
A defendant may appeal against sentence to the National Court under section 219(1), which under section 230(1)(b) may mitigate or increase the penalty. For a section 420 offence the Public Prosecutor may appeal against sentence too (section 219(4)). And the 2009 amendment, when it commences, adds a section 171A under which the National Court may review any term of imprisonment imposed in a Part VII hearing. See appeals.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex. The Criminal Law (Compensation) Act is on PacLII as a PDF only.
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.