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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2023 |
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Vague ground of appeal struck out; 32-year murder sentence upheld as not manifestly excessive.
Criminal law – Appeal – Compliance with Rule 66(2) – specificity of grounds of appeal; Appellate duty to re-evaluate evidence; Sentencing discretion – manifestly excessive test – mitigation and consistency in murder sentences.
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1 November 2023 |
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Conviction upheld on reliable single-witness identification; sentence reduced for failure to account pre-trial remand.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – single identifying witness; conditions for safe identification and need for caution; corroboration of identification evidence; identification parade not always mandatory. Criminal procedure – Sentencing – Article 23(8) Constitution: mandatory consideration/deduction of pre-trial remand; appellate power to alter sentence under Judicature Act.
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1 November 2023 |
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Single-witness identification upheld; sentence reduced for failure to credit pre-trial remand to 18 years.
Criminal law – identification – conviction on single identifying witness – conditions for reliable identification (lighting, proximity, duration, familiarity) and need for corroboration. Identification parade – omission not fatal where identification conditions and corroboration are sufficient. Constitutional law – Article 23(8) – mandatory credit for time spent on remand; failure renders sentence illegal. Appeal – appellate court power to vary sentence under its statutory jurisdiction.
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1 November 2023 |
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Interim stay granted where reference pending and taxation of costs constituted a serious threat of execution.
Civil procedure – Interim stay of execution – Requirements: competent notice of appeal/reference; substantive application pending; serious threat of execution. Appellate procedure – Reference from single‑Justice decisions – filing a reference places the single‑Justice application before a three‑Justice panel. Execution law – Execution is a process; taxation of costs can constitute an imminent threat of execution. Court of Appeal rules – discretionary power to grant interim relief in aid of substantive justice.
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1 November 2023 |
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An implementing roads agency was held jointly liable for construction damage; an Attorney General concession and expert report were binding.
Tort — negligence arising from road construction; binding effect of Attorney General's concession and expert report; judgment on admission; ministerial supervision of statutory agency; limitation not pleaded; Transfer of Assets and Liabilities Regulations 2012 inapplicable to compensation claims.
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1 November 2023 |
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A roads authority under ministerial supervision is liable in tort and bound by the Attorney General's adoption of an expert report.
Civil procedure – Parties are bound by pleadings; limitation cannot be raised as an afterthought in submissions. Evidence – Judgment on admission (Order 13 r.6) may be entered where a party adopts or procures an expert determination. Constitutional/administrative law – Opinion of the Attorney General and government technical reports binding on agencies under ministerial supervision. Tort – Implementing public agency liable in tort for damage caused during public works despite privity of contract with contractor. Statutory interpretation – Transfer of Assets Regulations 2012 transfer specified physical assets/liabilities; do not cover pre-existing negligence claims.
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1 November 2023 |
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Reliable single-witness identification corroborated by recovery evidence upheld conviction; sentence found not excessive.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – participation and identification – proof beyond reasonable doubt by single eyewitness where opportunity to observe and corroborative recovery evidence exists. Evidence – identification parades – not mandatory where other cogent evidence connects accused to the crime. Sentencing – appellate interference only where sentence is illegal or manifestly excessive; mitigating factors properly considered.
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1 November 2023 |
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Identification by the victim, corroborated by presence in the stolen vehicle and statements, upheld conviction and sentence.
Criminal law – aggravated robbery – identification by single witness – reliability where moonlight and sufficient observation time exist; identification parade not mandatory where other cogent corroborative evidence exists. Evidence – statements to police and presence in stolen vehicle as corroboration. Sentencing – appellate restraint; interference only where sentence illegal or manifestly excessive.
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1 November 2023 |
| October 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction on identification and common intention, but reduced sentence to 26 years.
Criminal law – identification evidence – single identifying witness and corroboration by dying declaration; Criminal law – dying declaration admissibility and corroborative value; Criminal law – common intention (section 20 Penal Code) where specific assailant who fired fatal shot not proved; Sentencing – appellate interference where mitigating factors and consistency not adequately considered.
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26 October 2023 |
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Conviction for murder upheld on identification and common intention; sentence reduced to 26 years for failure to weigh mitigating factors.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – single identifying witness known to victim and accused – voice and lamp lighting sufficient under proper caution. Evidence – dying declaration admissible and capable of corroborating identification. Criminal law – murder liability under doctrine of common intention where co‑offenders used a firearm and death was a probable consequence. Sentencing – appellate intervention where trial judge failed to weigh mitigating factors and ensure consistency; substituted sentence after deducting remand time.
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26 October 2023 |
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Improper plea-taking (failure to explain mens rea) led to quashing murder conviction and substitution with manslaughter and reduced sentence.
Criminal procedure – Plea-taking – requirement to explain essential ingredients (mens rea) of murder before recording guilty plea; defective plea may lead to substitution with lesser offence if particulars disclose it; miscarriage of justice test for irregularities; sentencing — reduction and deduction of remand period.
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26 October 2023 |
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A 28-year sentence for aggravated defilement was reduced to 16 years (12 years 3 months after remand deduction) for excessive sentencing and mitigation.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – sentencing – appropriate range and mitigation for guilty plea; Sentencing Guidelines 2013 – obligation to consider consistency with comparable sentences (clause 6(c)); Appellate review of sentence – interference where discretion produces manifestly excessive outcome or important factors ignored; Medical evidence – non-rupture of hymen immaterial to statutory penetration definition.
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25 October 2023 |
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Appellate court reduced applicant's 28-year aggravated defilement sentence to 16 years (12 years 3 months after remand credit).
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – Sentencing – Appellate interference where sentence manifestly excessive or wrong in principle – Sentencing Guidelines: duty to consider consistency – Plea of guilty attracts leniency – Medical finding of hymen non‑rupture immaterial to penetration.
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25 October 2023 |
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Whether the trial judge failed to weigh mitigating factors, rendering the sentences harsh and excessive.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Appeal against sentence – Whether sentence is harsh or manifestly excessive – Duty to consider mitigating and aggravating factors; guilty plea as mitigation; deduction of remand time; Court of Appeal’s limited interference with discretionary sentencing.
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25 October 2023 |
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Court finds enhanced sentence beyond plea bargain terms illegal; reduces to agreed 17 years 9 months.
Criminal Procedure – Plea Bargain – Sentencing – Legality of exceeding agreed sentences in plea bargains.
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25 October 2023 |
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A plea-bargain sentence is invalid where required plea procedures are omitted and remand time is not duly deducted.
Criminal law – aggravated defilement – plea-bargain sentencing – Plea Bargain Rules compliance – requirement to hear aggravation, mitigation, victim and allocutus – constitutional duty to deduct remand time (Article 23(8)) – defective sentence – Court of Appeal’s power to resentence.
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25 October 2023 |
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Reference dismissed where the underlying leave-to-appeal was withdrawn, removing the legal basis for the challenge.
Civil procedure – Reference against single-judge ruling – Withdrawal of underlying leave to appeal removes basis for reference; Unpleaded illegality/contempt cannot confer automatic appeal right; Jurisdiction and effect of spot orders – Ugandan spot orders do not bind arbitral proceedings lawfully commenced under prior court-sanctioned orders in another jurisdiction.
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23 October 2023 |
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Court finds respondent in civil contempt for failing to implement an order to restore or provide access and orders compliance, damages and referral.
Contempt of court – civil contempt – elements: clear lawful order, actual knowledge, intentional non‑compliance; jurisdiction to enforce orders reinstated by appellate court; enforcement remedies including coercive committal, damages and referral for proof of special damages; requirement for strict proof of special damages/mesne profits.
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23 October 2023 |
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Appellate court enforces plea-bargain terms, mandates remand-time deduction and corrects unlawfully enhanced sentences.
Criminal law – Plea bargaining – Parties’ plea-bargain agreements to be upheld unless miscarriage of justice; sentencing – Constitutional requirement to deduct remand time (Article 23(8)); unlawful enhancement of sentence outside plea bargain; confiscation/sale of recovered property under plea bargain; appellate substitution of agreed sentence (Judicature Act s.11; Trial on Indictments Act s.132(5)).
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20 October 2023 |
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Court adjusts sentences to align with plea bargain agreements, considering remand periods for robbery conviction.
Criminal Law – Aggravated robbery – Plea bargaining agreement – Sentencing discrepancies – Correction of sentencing to reflect plea agreements.
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20 October 2023 |
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Stay of execution denied for failure to prove imminent substantial loss and to provide security pending appeal.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution pending appeal – requirements: likelihood of success; substantial loss/irreparable harm; balance of convenience; absence of undue delay; security for due performance – Affidavit formalities under the Oaths Act – Discretionary relief.
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20 October 2023 |
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Plea-taking was properly conducted and the concurrent 25 years 8 months' sentences for murder and aggravated robbery were upheld.
Criminal law – Plea-taking procedure – Recording of facts and explanation of essential ingredients – Validity of convictions on plea of guilty; Sentencing – Appellate interference – High threshold for upsetting exercise of judicial discretion; murder and aggravated robbery sentencing precedents.
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19 October 2023 |
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Court upheld convictions and concurrent 25 years 8 months sentences, dismissing plea‑procedure and excessiveness challenges.
Criminal law – plea of guilty – procedure for recording plea (Adan v Republic) – convictions upheld; Sentencing – manifestly excessive? – appellate interference limited – murder and aggravated robbery; sentencing guidelines and aggravating/mitigating factors; concurrent sentences.
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19 October 2023 |
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Appellant’s challenge to the respondent’s title failed; trespass damages increased to Shs.35,660,000 with 20% interest.
Property law – succession and administration – sale by beneficiaries before Letters of Administration – whether such sale amounts to intermeddling or is void; Evidence – burden and proof of illegality on balance of probabilities; Tort – trespass and damage to land – entitlement to compensation; Appeal – reappraisal of evidence in first appeal; Quantum – reassessment and substitution of damages and interest.
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17 October 2023 |
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17 October 2023 |
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Interim stay denied where applicant failed to show a properly lodged appeal or imminent execution and had not complied with prior security condition.
Civil procedure – Interim relief – Stay of execution – discretionary remedy to preserve status quo pending substantive appeal – requirement that a substantive appeal be pending and a serious threat of execution exists. Appeal procedure – Competence – lodgment, service, filing of record and memorandum of appeal essential; lodgment of notice of appeal alone insufficient. Security for due performance – prior conditional stay requiring deposit of security where non‑compliance weighs against grant of interim stay. Burden of proof – on applicant to demonstrate imminence of execution and competence of appeal.
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17 October 2023 |
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A plea bargain does not replace statutory plea taking; absence of a recorded plea vitiates conviction and sentence.
Criminal procedure – Plea bargain – Requirement that accused plead guilty and that plea be recorded under Trial on Indictments Act (ss.60,63) and Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules – Absence of plea taking vitiates conviction and sentence.
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16 October 2023 |
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Unreliable identification and failure to produce material witnesses or exhibits warranted quashing convictions and ordering acquittal.
Criminal law – identification evidence – reliability of identification at night, with masks and limited observation – single identifying witness requires caution. Criminal procedure – duty of prosecution to call material witnesses and produce exhibits – failure to do so may attract adverse inference. Circumstantial evidence – phone-tracking and recent possession – inadmissible/insufficient where receipts, call data and intermediary witnesses are not produced. Identification parades – proper conduct and evidentiary weight where organized by investigating officers.
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16 October 2023 |
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Appeal allowed where sole visual identification was unreliable and the appellant's untested alibi was not disproved.
Criminal law – Visual identification – Single identifying witness whose evidence was inconsistent on lighting; identification unsafe. Criminal procedure – Alibi – Prosecution duty to investigate and destroy alibi; failure to do so renders conviction unsafe. Evidence – Inconsistencies on crucial matters go to root of case and may discredit testimony.
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16 October 2023 |
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Appeal allowed: sentences reduced for murder and attempted murder due to marginal adulthood and remand deduction.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Appellate interference where sentence is illegal, founded on wrong principle, ignores material factor, or is manifestly excessive. Sentencing – Consideration of offender's age at time of offence; marginal adulthood as mitigating factor. Sentencing – Balancing aggravating factors (premeditation, use of weapon, killing of infant) against mitigation (first offender, potential for reform, remand period); deduction of remand; concurrent sentences.
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16 October 2023 |
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Conviction based on uncorroborated circumstantial evidence and a trial judge’s failure under s.82(3) led to quashing and release.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – sufficiency and need for careful scrutiny and corroboration; Trial on Indictments Act s.82(3) – judge’s duty to state reasons when departing from assessors’ opinion – mandatory; assessors’ unanimous acquittal – misrecording by trial judge renders verdict nullity.
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16 October 2023 |
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Court grants stay of execution pending hearing of application to set aside ex parte judgment due to counsel negligence.
Court of Appeal - Stay of Execution - Ex Parte Judgment - Right to Fair Hearing - Counsel Negligence - Balance of Convenience.
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13 October 2023 |
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Whether the claim was for recovery of land (12 years) or contractual (6 years); court held it was contractual and time-barred.
Limitation of actions — Whether claim is for recovery of land (s.5, s.18 Limitation Act) or contractual claim (s.3 Limitation Act); effect of non-joinder of registered proprietor under the Registration of Titles Act; scope of declaratory relief (Order 2 r.9) and misjoinder/non-joinder rule (Order 1 r.9) where a suit is time-barred.
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13 October 2023 |
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12 October 2023 |
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Appeal against 40-year aggravated defilement sentence dismissed; remand-deduction challenge rejected.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – sentencing – starting point and range (Constitutional Sentencing Guidelines) – repeated assaults on a 12-year-old; Sentencing – appellate interference – limits: illegality, manifest excess, failure to exercise discretion, failure to take material factor into account, error of principle; Remand detention – whether arithmetic deduction required and retrospective effect of judicial developments.
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12 October 2023 |
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Appeal allowed: trial court failed to consider mitigating factors; intoxication not established; re-sentenced to 17 years 6 months.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Appeal against sentence – appellate intervention where trial court overlooked mitigating factors; defence of intoxication – statutory requirements and inapplicability to general intent offences; sentencing guidelines (starting point 35 years for rape) and re-sentencing powers under Judicature Act.
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12 October 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed: remand credit properly considered under pre-Rwabugande law and 12-year sentence for aggravated robbery affirmed.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Article 23(8) Constitution – credit for time on remand – applicability of Rwabugande decision and non-retrospectivity. Sentencing discretion – interference threshold: illegality, wrong principle, failure to consider material facts, or manifest excessiveness. Aggravated robbery – maximum penalty and sentencing starting point; principle of consistency with similar cases.
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12 October 2023 |
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10 October 2023 |
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Contempt application against Electoral Chairperson struck out due to official immunity and premature filing.
Civil Procedure - Contempt of Court - Immunity of Electoral Commission officials under Section 49 - Abuse of court process.
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6 October 2023 |
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The appellant’s life sentence for murder was reduced to 35 years, with seven years remand deducted (28 years custodial).
Criminal law – Murder – Sentence – Life imprisonment within statutory range but may be manifestly excessive; appellate review of sentence on first appeal; consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors; sentencing guidelines; deduction of remand time under Article 23(B).
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5 October 2023 |
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Mob-justice murder sentence reduced for mitigation and failure to deduct remand, substituted with 10 years 6 months imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder – Mob justice as mitigating factor; sentencing discretion – appellate interference where sentence manifestly excessive; duty to compute and deduct remand period (Article 23(8)); consistency of sentences in mob-justice cases.
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2 October 2023 |
| September 2023 |
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The appellate court reversed a land boundary decision due to inadequate evidence evaluation by the lower courts.
Land Law – land ownership – re-evaluation of evidence – appellate duty – boundary dispute resolution
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28 September 2023 |
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Whether accomplice testimony corroborated by circumstantial evidence suffices to sustain murder and aggravated robbery convictions.
Criminal law – accomplice evidence – requirement for independent corroboration; circumstantial evidence – recent possession and vehicle identification; alibi and torture allegations – standard of proof; sentencing – Article 23(8) remand credit; appellate re-evaluation on first appeal.
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28 September 2023 |
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Court upholds aggravated defilement conviction, adjusting sentence to 15 years and 5 months for remand time.
Criminal Law - Aggravated defilement - Legal representation inadequacies - Evidence inconsistencies - Victim identification - Sentence adjustment for remand time.
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26 September 2023 |
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Appellant’s conviction upheld despite counsel irregularity; sentence varied to 15 years 5 months crediting remand.
Criminal law – aggravated defilement; child witness identification; corroboration not required if evidence cogent; forensic evidence and broken chain of custody; judicial bias; State‑appointed counsel not on Roll – irregularity v. miscarriage of justice; sentencing — credit for remand and sentence clarity.
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26 September 2023 |
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Unrecorded assessors' oath not fatal; alibis rejected; conviction upheld; illegal sentence set aside and remand deducted.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Identification evidence – scene and ID parade corroboration. Trial procedure – Assessors – omission to record administration of assessor oath not fatal where no miscarriage of justice and record shows assessors were on oath. Criminal evidence – Alibi – requirement to raise early, weight and need for corroboration; afterthoughts properly rejected. Sentencing – Sentence must be clear and deduct remand period under Article 23(8); appellate substitution where sentence illegal or ambiguous.
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26 September 2023 |
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Court requires complete Record of Appeal before hearing an appeal. Submissions deemed insufficient due to incompleteness.
Criminal Appeal - Record of Appeal - Necessity for complete Record of Appeal before hearing - Submissions insufficient with incomplete Record
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19 September 2023 |
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Stay refused: limited appellate jurisdiction over arbitral awards and insufficient proof of irreparable harm.
Arbitration law – limited court intervention under Arbitration and Conciliation Act s.9 and s.34; appellate jurisdiction and competence; stay of execution – conditions: likelihood of success, irreparable harm, delay, security; evidential burden to prove substantial loss.
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12 September 2023 |
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Court upheld 27-year murder sentence, finding it not manifestly excessive after weighing aggravating and mitigating factors.
Criminal law — Murder — Sentence; Appellate review of sentence — interference only if wrong principle, material factor overlooked, or manifestly excessive; Sentencing Guidelines — starting point for murder; Principle of uniformity in sentencing; Mitigating and aggravating factors; Deduction for time on remand.
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8 September 2023 |
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Court upheld a 20-year aggravated defilement sentence, finding mitigating factors considered and remand deduction not required in 2013.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – sentencing principles – consideration of mitigating and aggravating factors; appellate restraint on interfering with sentence. Constitutional law – Article 23(8) – treatment of remand period – "take into account" versus arithmetic deduction; non-retrospectivity of Rwabugande. Criminal procedure – when appellate court may interfere – manifestly excessive or wrong in principle.
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8 September 2023 |
