S v MBIZI 1989 (3) ZLR 317 (S)

Flynote

Criminal law — Criminal Law Amendment Act D — [Chapter 58] — s3(d) — unlawful carnal knowledge of female "idiot or imbecile" — what is — evidence necessary to show whether female was an idiot or imbecile.

Headnote

The Criminal Law Amendment Act [Chapter 58] does not give a definition or other pertinent indication of the ambit of the words "idiot" or "imbecile", which are used in s 3(d) of the Act. It is necessary, therefore, to have recourse to the general principle of interpretation that the ordinary, grammatical meaning of the word or phrase, as popularly understood, is to be adopted unless, by reason of the context and construction of the enactment, some other meaning is apposite. The dictionary definitions make it clear that not all mentally retarded persons fall within the category of idiot or imbecile and it is therefore essential to allege and prove that the complainant suffered from such mental deficiency as to be properly defined as an idiot or imbecile. Whether the required state of mental defectiveness has been reached in a particular case is a question of fact, to be determined after the reception of expert medical testimony. Proof of mental sub-normality and feeble-mindedness does not per se prove idiocy or imbecility.