Uganda v Semugoma (Criminal Session Case No. 54 of 1992) [1992] UGHCCRD 4 (17 December 1992)

Flynote

Criminal law|Evidence Law

Case summary

The trial judge noted that the elements to be proven were; the age of the victim, penetration of her vagina, and participation of the accused. He found that the victim was aged between 12-16 years at the time of the commission of the offence, based on the evidence of her mother and the doctor that examined her. He also found that on the basis of the victim’s testimony, and the evidence of her mother and the doctor that examined her, sexual intercourse had taken place. It was held that the accused had been properly identified. He was well-known to the victim and had committed the offence in broad daylight, favouring identification. The trial judge found the victim to be an intelligent witness and held that her evidence, since she was the victim of a sexual offence and a child of tender years, had been sufficiently corroborated by her mother and the examining doctor. The accused’s claim that the defiler was another man named ‘Sengoba William,’ whom he had aided to escape, was rejected. The trial judge noted that the accused’s name had, at the beginning, been erroneously entered as ‘Sengoba’ instead of ‘Semugoma,’ but this had been rectified and there was no misidentification. Consequently, the accused was convicted of defilement.

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