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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2023 |
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Murder sentences reduced to 30 years and credited with 3 years 4 months remand, resulting in 26 years 8 months custody.
Criminal law – Murder – Sentencing range 30 years to death – Appellate review of sentence – manifestly excessive standard – aggravating factors (brutality, premeditation, lack of remorse) – mitigating factors (first offenders, youth, family responsibilities) – Remand period credit – Article 23(8) Constitution – arithmetic vs non-arithmetic approaches to remand credit – reduction and substitution of sentence.
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30 March 2023 |
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A court must explicitly deduct the remand period from a sentence for murder and properly consider mitigating factors in sentencing.
Criminal law – sentencing – murder – appellate review of sentence – requirement to deduct period spent on remand – consideration of mitigating and aggravating factors – discretion in sentencing – compliance with constitutional and guideline requirements.
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30 March 2023 |
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Whether identification proved the applicant's participation, and whether remand credit and compensation orders required correction.
* Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – identification evidence by eye-witnesses with prior knowledge; discrepancies in location not fatal. * Criminal procedure – Indictment irregularity – error in village name not occasioning miscarriage of justice if accused not misled. * Constitutional law/ sentencing – Article 23(8) credit for remand custody; sentencing courts must ascertain remand period; appellate correction permitted. * Sentencing – appellate interference where discretion improperly exercised; reduction of sentence warranted. * Compensation – Penal Code s286(4) and Trial on Indictment s126 permit compensation; interest and restitution in kind reviewable; payments to deceased’s estate appropriate.
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30 March 2023 |
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A plea-bargain custodial sentence must be reduced by the period the convict spent on remand under Article 23(8).
* Constitutional law – Article 23(8) – requirement to deduct time spent on remand when computing sentences.* Sentencing – Guideline 15 (Sentencing Guidelines 2013) – application to plea-bargain sentences.* Criminal procedure – legality of sentence – appellate variation for failure to credit remand time.* Appellate jurisdiction – powers to correct unlawful sentences.
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30 March 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld a 32-year sentence for aggravated defilement, finding it lawful and not manifestly excessive.
* Criminal law – aggravated defilement – sentencing discretion – appellate interference only if illegal or manifestly excessive; * Sentencing Guidelines (2013) – aggravated defilement minimum 30 years to death; * Aggravating factors – offender’s knowledge of HIV status, victim’s tender age, abuse of position of trust; * Uniformity in sentencing – desirable but subordinate to individualized exercise of judicial discretion.
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30 March 2023 |
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Appellate court reduced a 25-year aggravated defilement sentence to 20 years for excessiveness and proper remand consideration.
* Criminal law – Sentencing – Aggravated defilement – Appropriate sentence range and consistency with prior authorities.
* Constitutional law – Article 23(8) – Credit for time spent on remand and what constitutes compliance.
* Sentencing Guidelines – Application of Constitutional Sentencing Guidelines and principle of uniformity in sentencing.
* Appellate review – Grounds for interfering with discretionary sentences (illegal, wrong principle, failure to consider material circumstances, manifestly excessive).
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30 March 2023 |
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Appeal against death sentences dismissed; murder found so brutal and premeditated it warranted capital punishment.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Death penalty – Discretionary imposition in "exceptional"/"rarest of the rare" cases; appellate review of sentence – limits on interference; mitigation factors (first offender, guilty plea, remorse) weighed against aggravation (brutality, premeditation, killing in presence of family, kinship).
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29 March 2023 |
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Aggravated robbery conviction upheld on admitted medical report; sentence reduced and remand credit deducted.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Ingredient of grievous harm – Medical report admitted by memorandum of agreed facts – Evidence Act ss.57 and 28 – Admission as conceded fact; Sentencing – discretion and consistency – excessive sentence reduced; Remand credit deducted.
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29 March 2023 |
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Failure to satisfy one-year residency and fostering rules justified dismissal of inter-country adoption appeal.
Children law Inter-country adoption Section 46 Childrens Act one-year residency and fostering requirement discretionary waiver only in exceptional circumstances childs best interests paramount; virtual contact insufficient to substitute fostering.
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29 March 2023 |
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Court quashed conviction for abuse of office due to lack of evidence of actual harm or prejudice.
Criminal Law – Abuse of office – Obligations under the Anti-Corruption Act – Necessity of proving prejudice to employer's interests – Review of evidence in appellate courts.
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29 March 2023 |
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29 March 2023 |
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The appeal against life sentences was dismissed; the sentences were not manifestly excessive given the brutal circumstances.
Criminal law – Murder – Sentence – appellate interference only where sentence illegal or manifestly excessive; Sentencing Guidelines – consideration of aggravating/mitigating factors and need for consistency; discretion of sentencing court.
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29 March 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld a 25-year sentence for aggravated defilement as not manifestly excessive and remand was credited.
Criminal law – Sentencing discretion; appellate interference only for illegality or manifest excess; aggravated defilement sentencing range; credit for remand time – arithmetic deduction not mandatory where remand is demonstrably considered.
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29 March 2023 |
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Whether minor eyewitness contradictions vitiated murder convictions and whether the imposed sentences were excessive.
* Criminal law – Murder – Appellate re-evaluation of conviction – assessment of eyewitness contradictions and their materiality.
* Evidence – Contradictions and discrepancies – Minor inconsistencies that do not go to the root of the case may be ignored; grave contradictions must be satisfactorily explained.
* Sentencing – Discretion of trial court – appellate interference only where discretion misapplied, illegal, or manifestly excessive; remand time and sentencing guidelines considered.
* Principle of consistency – sentencing guided by precedents and constitutional sentencing guidelines.
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29 March 2023 |
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Whether minor date inconsistencies and admissibility of a charge and caution statement undermine an aggravated defilement conviction.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – ingredients: victim under 18, sexual act (penetration), perpetrator, accused HIV positive; Evidence – contradictions/inconsistencies – minor discrepancies not fatal if corroboration exists; Evidence – charge and caution statement – admissibility and voluntariness—trial-within-a-trial required only if objected to; Medical evidence (PF3) as corroboration of penetration; Proof of HIV status and application of seroconversion/window period.
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29 March 2023 |
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Publication that respondent was 'main man' behind Panda Gari was defamatory; defences failed; appeal dismissed with costs.
Defamation — publication alleging involvement in Panda Gari — whether defamatory; defences — justification (truth), qualified privilege, fair comment; burden of proof on defendants to prove substantial truth or factual basis for comment; assessment of damages for defamatory imputations of criminality against a public figure.
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28 March 2023 |
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Acquittal where single-witness identification and alleged corroboration were unreliable, leaving reasonable doubt about participation.
Criminal law – identification evidence – single identifying witness requires caution and, where necessary, corroboration; circumstantial evidence – recovery of property must be positively linked to stolen item to corroborate identification; confession/admissions to police – admissibility and probative value; failure to recover weapon not necessarily fatal to prosecution but evidence must prove participation beyond reasonable doubt.
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24 March 2023 |
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Conviction for aggravated defilement upheld: children's unsworn evidence corroborated, alibi rejected, sentence affirmed (15 years 9 months).
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement; admissibility and corroboration of unsworn evidence of children of tender years; contemporaneous report as corroboration (Evidence Act s156); reliability of child identification (lighting, duration, familiarity, voir dire); alibi; appellate review of sentence; sentence within established ranges for aggravated defilement.
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24 March 2023 |
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Single-judge can hear stay applications; applicant failed to show likelihood of success or irreparable harm, so stay dismissed.
Court of Appeal jurisdiction – single justice powers under Section 12 Judicature Act; Rule 53(2) of Court of Appeal Rules void to extent inconsistent; stay of execution – applicant must show likelihood of success, irreparable harm, and balance of convenience; demand letter not proof of imminent execution.
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24 March 2023 |
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23 March 2023 |
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Commissioner lacked power to suspend Transaction Value Method; reassessment ordered; aggravated damages set aside.
Customs valuation – EACCMA s.122(1) and Fourth Schedule – Transaction Value Method mandatory; sequential application of valuation methods required; Fall Back Method only where earlier methods fail; Commissioner lacks power to suspend primary valuation method; reassessment and refund remedies; aggravated damages require evidence of malice or arrogance.
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23 March 2023 |
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23 March 2023 |
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Registered proprietor entitled to vacant possession; respondents’ kibanja claim failed due to abandonment and onus not discharged.
Land law – Kibanja interests – Effect of failure to give notice under s.4(1) Land Reform Decree; Bona fide occupant – requirement of uninterrupted occupation and utilisation; Abandonment – s.37 Land Act; Burden of proof – party alleging interest must prove it; Locus in quo – procedural irregularities not necessarily fatal.
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23 March 2023 |
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Application for committal for contempt over rebuilding shelters on stay-preserved land dismissed for lack of intentional breach.
Contempt of court – civil contempt – elements: clear lawful order, actual knowledge, intentional breach – interim stay/status quo – standard of proof higher than mere probability – limited reconstruction by long-term occupants not necessarily contempt.
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21 March 2023 |
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Appeal allowed: purchaser's title upheld where lender was a moneylender and failed to prove fraudulent backdating.
Property — third‑party purchaser — alleged backdated sale; Evidence — parol evidence rule does not bar proof of fraud invalidating a written instrument; Moneylenders v Mortgage law — characterisation of transaction; Illegality and unconscionability — excessive interest and premature demands; Consent judgments entered amid illegality — limited effect; Burden of proof on balance of probabilities.
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20 March 2023 |
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An interim stay is appropriate where a competent appeal, substantive stay application and a real threat of execution coexist.
Civil procedure – Interim stay of execution pending appeal – Court of Appeal Rule 6(2)(b) – Requirements: competent notice of appeal, substantive stay application, serious threat of execution (eg. garnishee absolute) – Delay/dilatory conduct not automatically fatal.
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20 March 2023 |
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The appellant's delay, stoppages and substandard work justified lawful termination and seizure; no implied waiver of the completion date.
Contract law — waiver and acquiescence — implied vs express conditional waiver; Construction contracts — time as condition vs warranty; GCC clauses — liquidated damages (cl.49), employer remedies and seizure of plant/materials (cl.61); Termination for fundamental breach — non‑completion, stoppage/abandonment, substandard workmanship; Evidentiary requirements for final account/final certificate; Costs on split or unsuccessful claims.
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20 March 2023 |
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Respondents' land claim was time‑barred; customary distribution and long acquiescence barred relief, appeal allowed, suit dismissed.
Limitation of actions – accrual of right to recover land on owner's death (section 6(2)); twelve‑year bar for land claims (section 5); customary distribution of intestate estate can be valid without letters of administration where beneficiaries settle and acquiesce; fraud exception cannot revive a claim extinguished by limitation if fraudulent acts post‑date limitation; Land Reform Decree and inheritance of customary interests; evidentiary weight of beneficiary testimony and failure to call additional witnesses.
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20 March 2023 |
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Court struck out interim stay application for failing to first seek relief in the High Court; no exceptional circumstances found.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution – Interim stay requires competent notice of appeal, pending substantive application and serious threat of execution – Applications ordinarily to be made first in High Court under Rule 42(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules – Court of Appeal will only entertain first-instance stay applications in exceptional circumstances.
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20 March 2023 |
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Whether a written donation of land created enforceable contractual rights when the gifted parcel was not identified or transferred.
Land law – Donation vs contract – parol evidence rule; perfection of gift of registered land requires identification and transfer/registration; locus in quo visits where location unclear; admissibility and weight of administrator’s testimony; handling of handwriting expert report.
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20 March 2023 |
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20 March 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld convictions for aggravated robbery and arson, adjusted arson sentence to deduct remand time.
Criminal law—Aggravated robbery—elements: theft, use of violence/threat, deadly weapon, participation—identification evidence—arson—elements: deliberate setting of fire, unlawfulness, accused's participation—plea-taking formalities—omnibus reading not fatal where plea of not guilty and full trial—sentence adjustment to deduct remand time.
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18 March 2023 |
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High Court jurisdiction upheld; summary dismissals without a fair hearing unlawful; employees entitled to overtime, notice pay, severance (one month/year) and damages.
Employment law – jurisdiction of High Court versus Labour Officer – res judicata; Employment law – summary dismissal – duty to notify and hear (s.66 Employment Act); Hours of work and overtime – entitlement where weekly hours exceed 48; Severance pay – calculation and judicial discretion; General damages for wrongful dismissal.
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17 March 2023 |
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Majority quashed convictions arising from delegated NAADS procurement, finding insufficient proof of arbitrary abuse; one judge dissented.
* Criminal law – Abuse of office – ingredients – whether an "arbitrary act" prejudicial to employer proved.
* Procurement law – applicability of NAADS community‑based procurement versus PPDA Regulations – effect on criminal liability.
* Criminal law – Forgery and Uttering – proof of false documents and culpable intent.
* Criminal procedure – Indictments – particulars under Trial on Indictments Act (s.25(c)) – defective particulars render conviction a nullity.
* Sentencing/remedies – remand credit and order for payment of contract price where conviction set aside.
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17 March 2023 |
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Unlawful dismissal without a fair hearing warrants compensation; excessive interest and exemplary damages can be reduced on appeal.
Labour law – unfair/wrongful dismissal – requirement of fair hearing and Board satisfaction; non-retrospectivity of Employment Act 2006; quantum of damages – interest, general and exemplary damages; successor liability in employer transfers.
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17 March 2023 |
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Majority quashed convictions after finding NAADS community procurement and insufficient proof of abuse, with one judge dissenting on guilt of two appellants.
Criminal law – Abuse of office – Ingredients: employment in public body; arbitrary act; abuse of authority; prejudice to employer – proof required. Procurement law – NAADS community‑based procurement v PPDA Regulations – applicability and effect. Criminal law – Forgery and uttering false documents – making/uttering false documents with intent to defraud. Criminal procedure – Particulars of indictment – sufficiency under Trial on Indictments Act. Sentencing – credit for remand and legality of sentence.
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17 March 2023 |
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A purchaser must make independent due diligence inquiries and transfers from an unregistered kibanja without landlord consent are invalid.
Land law — kibanja on mailo land — requirement of landlord consent/registration under Busuulu & Envujjo Law and Land Act (ss.34–35) — purchaser’s duty of due diligence — admissibility and legality of survey reports — unpleaded issues and fair hearing.
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17 March 2023 |
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Unilateral termination without notice or consent was a wrongful summary termination warranting adjusted reimbursement, severance and damages.
* Employment law – Termination v dismissal – notice and payment in lieu – employee’s consent required for payment in lieu; summary termination per Employment Act. * Constitutional law – Right to privacy – employer’s inquiries to third‑party banks do not amount to unlawful search where requests are limited and banks may decline. * Remedies – reimbursement of certain salary/credit loan deductions upheld; home mortgage reimbursement reversed and to be recalculated and offset; severance allowance upheld. * Damages – general damages reduced; aggravated damages awarded; no award for prospective salary arrears or employer pension/NSSF contributions. * Interest and costs – interest at 8% from Industrial Court award; each party to bear own costs.
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17 March 2023 |
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Conviction for murder upheld; death sentence set aside and substituted with 30 years' imprisonment.
Criminal law – murder – identification evidence – positive identification in daylight by known witnesses; hostile witness – expunction and unreliability; defence of alibi – burden remains on prosecution; sentencing – death penalty, "rarest of the rare" threshold; appellate resentencing under section 11 Judicature Act.
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16 March 2023 |
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Auditor General reports made for Parliament attract statutory immunity and cannot sustain civil proceedings against the Auditor General.
* Constitutional and statutory interpretation – Article 163 Constitution; National Audit Act 2008 – nature and destination of Auditor General reports; * Statutory immunity – s.38 National Audit Act: reports published for Parliament protected from civil/criminal proceedings; * Judicial review – scope where investigatory reports may be challenged for illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety; * Ownership of audits – requestor of audit immaterial once Auditor General conducts and issues report for Parliament.
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16 March 2023 |
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Murder conviction upheld on reliable eyewitness identification; death sentence set aside and substituted with 30 years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Positive eyewitness identification in broad daylight; hostile witness – declaration and expunging of statement; defence of alibi – burden and evaluation; sentencing – death penalty reserved for "rarest of the rare"; power to resentence under Judicature Act.
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16 March 2023 |
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Appeal allowed: convictions quashed due to inconsistencies, lack of corroboration and reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – appellate re‑appraisal of evidence – delay in reporting – medical evidence (intact hymen) – res gestae and hearsay exceptions – need for independent corroboration in absence of victim's testimony.
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16 March 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld convictions based on credible child identification but reduced a manifestly excessive aggregate sentence.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – Conviction on single child eyewitness – identification standards, conditions and corroboration; admissibility and weight of unsworn child evidence; medical report discrepancies as clerical errors; alibi not raised at trial; sentence review – appellate interference where sentence manifestly excessive and comparison with precedents.
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16 March 2023 |
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Appeal allowed: convictions quashed due to inconsistencies, lack of key witnesses, and insufficient corroboration of child complaints.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – sufficiency of evidence; medical evidence (intact hymen) and proof of penetration; delay in reporting; hearsay/res gestae exceptions for child complaints; necessity of independent corroboration; appellate re‑appraisal of evidence under Rule 30(1); resolving reasonable doubt in favour of accused.
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16 March 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed: defences of truth and fair comment failed; High Court’s finding of defamation and UGX 120,000,000 damages upheld.
Defamation – publication imputing criminality; defences of justification (truth) and fair comment – evidential burden and standards; assessment of meaning by reasonable reader; relevance of collateral character evidence; quantum of general damages in libel.
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16 March 2023 |
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Court upheld conviction on positive eyewitness identification but set aside death sentence and resentenced appellant to 30 years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder – Eyewitness identification by known witnesses in daylight – reliability and corroboration; hostile witness – impeachment and expunging of police statement; alibi defence – burden and evaluation; sentencing – death penalty, "rarest of the rare" principle and resentencing to fixed term.
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16 March 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed: prosecution failed to prove asportation, ownership and theft beyond reasonable doubt, so acquittal stands.
Criminal law – Theft and stealing cattle – Ingredients: ownership, lack of claim of right, asportation, fraudulent intent – Asportation requires some severance or removal; absence of evidence of removal fatal to prosecution. Burden of proof – prosecution must prove every ingredient beyond reasonable doubt. Appellate review – second appeal limited; will not re-evaluate facts unless no evidence supports trial findings.
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16 March 2023 |
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Conviction on circumstantial 'last seen' evidence upheld; sentence reduced from 25 years to 20 years (net 16 years 4 months after remand).
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence and last-seen doctrine – absence of murder weapon – alibi – convicted where exculpatory facts incompatible with innocence; Sentencing – appellate reduction of sentence for first offender and deducting remand period.
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16 March 2023 |
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Conviction quashed because the trial court failed to comply with mandatory plea-bargain recording requirements.
* Criminal procedure – Plea bargaining – Mandatory requirements under Rule 12 (informing accused of rights, voluntariness, factual basis) – Non-compliance renders proceedings a nullity. * Criminal procedure – Recording of plea – Omission to record reading of charges does not always occasion failure of justice where admissions and counsel’s participation establish substance. * Sentencing – Plea-bargain sentence inconsistent with record and failure to account for remand time and commencement of sentence are irregularities warranting setting aside.
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16 March 2023 |
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Where affidavits disclose bona fide triable issues, a defendant must be granted leave to defend under summary procedure.
Civil procedure – Order 36 summary procedure – leave to appear and defend; performance bonds/demand guarantees – autonomy and defences (fraud/misrepresentation) – when alleged fraud constitutes triable issues – duty to grant leave or conditional leave and not determine triable issues summarily.
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15 March 2023 |
