Mindful of the flagrante delicto procedure made against the
above identified accused;
Mindful of the documents in the file;
Having heard the arguments made by the accused;
Having heard the victim in her explanations, who declared to have no claims;
Having heard the submissions of the Legal Department;
Having received the floor in last position, the accused made his arguments to defend himself;
Considering Articles 327, 347 and 348 of the Penal Code, 2 to 10, 418 et seq. and 694 et seq. of
the Code of Criminal Procedure;
Whereas it results from the file and proceedings;
FACTS
Whereas O. D is accused of having in Kongoussi on 21 April 2017:
1) struck O. A and injured her, with a whip, resulting in her illness and total personal
incapacity to work (TIW) of more than seven days and less than twenty-one
days;
2) uttered criminal threats punishable by criminal law, in the case at hand by threatening
to kill O A if she refused to leave their father’s estate;
Whereas from the preliminary investigation to the hearing, the accused has always remained
consistent in acknowledging that he had indeed struck the victim, but vigorously refuting the acts of
threats;
After hearing the proceedings, the Court in accordance with the law deliberated as follows;
GROUNDS FOR THE DECISION
I-
PROSECUTION
A) CONSTITUTING THE OFFENCE
I- On assault and injuries
Whereas Article 327 of the Penal Code provides for that: "Any individual who deliberately
injures or beats a person or commits any other violence or assault shall be punished by
imprisonment for two months to two years and a fine of CFAF 50,000 to 600,000, or by one of
these two penalties only, if the result of such violence is illness or total personal incapacity to
work for more than seven days and less than twenty-one days.
In the event of premeditation or ambush, imprisonment shall be the maximum penalty laid
down in the preceding paragraph”;
That it follows, to incriminate an act of assault and battery, the law requires proof of a material
act of violence, the existence of a victim, guilty intent and a causal link;
That by assault, one can understand any material or physical harm resulting from the violent bringing
together of two bodies;
That, injuries presuppose an external or internal lesion produced in the human organism, a rupture
of the integuments, whatever their importance and the means used to cause them;
That the victim must be a person, alive at the time of the commission of the offence, and distinct
from the perpetrator; that from this notion of victim is deduced the notion of prejudice or damage;
Regarding the criminal intent, the perpetrator of the act must have been aware of causing harm or
damage to the bodily integrity of others before acting; That he must have had the will to act with a
view of harming others, regardless of the motive;