CJ.
“The unsworn evidence of a child must be corroborated by sworn evidence; if then the only evidence implicating the accused is that of unsworn children, the judge must stop the case. It makes no difference whether the child’s evidence relates to an assault on himself or herself or to any other charges. An example, would be where an unsworn child says that he saw the accused person steal an article’’.
“The sworn evidence of a child need not, as a matter of law, be corroborated, but a jury should be warned (and where there is no jury the judge should warn himself) not that the jury (or the judge) must find corroboration, but that there is a risk in acting on the uncorroborated evidence of young boys or girls, though the jury (or the judge) may do so if convinced that the witness is telling the truth, and this warning should also be given, where a young boy or girl is called to corroborate the evidence either of another child, sworn or unsworn or of an adult”.
Evidence of an accomplice
An accomplice is a person who has been connected in the commission of a crime; a person who, on the evidence, may be convicted of the offence with which an accused is charged. He is involved in the crime but he is not charged; rather he is turned a prosecution witness. He is a principis criminis, neither a co-accused nor an agent provocateur.
An accomplice includes:
A Participant in the actual crime charged
A Receiver of property for which the accused is charged with stealing
A Participant in other crimes alleged to have been committed by the accused, where evidence of such other crimes is admissible to prove system or intent or to negative accident.
The following persons may be directly or remotely connected with a crime but are not accomplices:
An accused,