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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 2018 |
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Two accused convicted for unauthorized access, electronic fraud and system tampering; two acquitted; warrantless seizures upheld.
Computer Misuse Act – unauthorized use/interception, electronic fraud, unauthorized access and modification of data; possession and procurement of spyware. East African Community Customs Management Act – unauthorized access to customs systems; fraudulent evasion of duty (proof of knowledge and causation). Constitutional and procedural law – validity of indictment signed by authorised DPP officer; effect of post‑charge amendments. Search and seizure – exigent circumstances justify warrantless seizure of computers; forensic imaging (Encase) admissible to preserve integrity of electronic evidence. Duplicity – combined allegations forming a single transaction may be charged in one count.
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7 February 2018 |
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Circumstantial evidence and an inadmissible police-custody statement were insufficient to prove the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder – elements: death, unlawful killing, malice aforethought, and causal participation. Evidence – Circumstantial evidence – must exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than guilt. Evidence – Confession – inadmissibility of confessions made in police custody absent presence of required senior officer (s.23(1) Evidence Act). Standard of proof – beyond reasonable doubt and limits of inference from demeanour and absence from scene.
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7 February 2018 |
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Criminal law
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7 February 2018 |
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Accused sentenced to eight years for aggravated defilement after guideline starting point, reduced for late guilty plea and remand credit.
Aggravated defilement; sentencing guidelines; starting point and discounts; late guilty plea mitigation; remand credit; victim/family forgiveness as mitigating factor; reliance on appellate precedent (Ninsiima, Kato Sula, Bashir Ssali, Tujunirwe).
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6 February 2018 |
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Criminal law
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6 February 2018 |
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Victim's statements and corroborative medical evidence upheld conviction for aggravated defilement despite no semen proof.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – elements: victim under 14; sexual act/penetration; evidential standard beyond reasonable doubt; corroboration by medical evidence and victim's statements. Evidence – medical examination showing vulval inflammation and mucoid discharge as corroboration of sexual assault; absence of proof of semen not fatal to prosecution. Evidence – credibility: accused's inconsistent explanations and admissions found unreliable; circumstantial evidence sufficient for conviction.
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5 February 2018 |
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Court imposed ten years two months after reducing a 21-year starting point for late guilty plea and remand time.
Criminal law – Rape – Sentencing – Appropriateness of death or life sentences – Application of Sentencing Guidelines and appellate precedents. Sentencing – Starting point and aggravating factors – elderly victim, attack at home, humiliation. Plea of guilty – Mitigating weight – reduction dependent on timing of plea; late plea attracts smaller discount. Remand – Set off of period spent on remand against imposed sentence.
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5 February 2018 |
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Accused acquitted where prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case of rape due to insufficient evidence.
Criminal procedure – prima facie case at close of prosecution; Rape – essential ingredients: carnal knowledge (penetration), absence of consent, identity of accused; insufficiency of hearsay/circumstantial evidence and absent victim or medical testimony.
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2 February 2018 |
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Court accepted plea bargain and sentenced the accused to ten years for aggravated defilement despite HIV-related aggravation.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – conviction on plea bargain – requirements for a knowing and voluntary plea and factual basis. Sentencing – Capital offence sentencing guidelines – starting point 35 years; death and life imprisonment reserved for most egregious cases. Aggravating factors – victim age (12), physical and emotional trauma, accused HIV positive (unaware) – risk of transmission. Mitigating factors – first offender, remorse, capacity for reform, time spent on remand (five years) – credit in sentencing. Application of precedents – need to apply sentencing guidelines in light of comparable appellate decisions when determining final term.
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1 February 2018 |
| January 2018 |
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Accused's guilty plea to aggravated defilement accepted; court imposed ten-year term after applying sentencing guidelines and precedents.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – Plea bargaining: voluntariness and factual basis; Sentencing – Guidelines starting point 35 years, relevance of appellate precedents; Mitigation – first offender, remand credit; Death/life imprisonment reserved for most egregious cases.
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31 January 2018 |
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Accused convicted on circumstantial and forensic evidence and sentenced to death for a brutal decapitation.
Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawful killing, malice aforethought; Circumstantial evidence – inference of guilt where exculpatory facts incompatible with innocence; Forensic and SOCO evidence – post-mortem, photographs, weapon identification; Sentencing – death penalty for exceptionally brutal killings (decapitation and concealment).
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31 January 2018 |
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Accused convicted for negligent act causing an infant's death and released as sentence equalled time served.
Criminal law – s.227 Penal Code: Doing a rash or negligent act causing death; parental/guardian duty to seek medical care; distinction between negligence and recklessness; sentencing principles; guilty plea credit; remand deduction; time served.
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31 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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30 January 2018 |
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Unsworn child testimony for the prosecution requires independent corroboration before supporting a conviction.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – elements: victim under 14; sexual act; accused’s participation. Evidence – unsworn child testimony (s.40(3) Trial on Indictments Act) requires corroboration before it may sustain a conviction. Corroboration – independent material evidence must connect accused to the offence; mere narration to third parties is insufficient.
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30 January 2018 |
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Prosecution’s inconsistent medical evidence and missing exhibits created reasonable doubt; accused acquitted of aggravated defilement.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – ingredients: victim under 14, sexual act, identity of perpetrator. Evidence – medical evidence – inconsistency between clinic findings and PF3A; absence of examining witness. Evidence – exhibits and forensic proof – failure to exhibit knickers or produce forensic analysis; missing Charge and Caution statement. Defence – alibi – prosecution’s duty to place accused at scene; alibi can create reasonable doubt. Burden and standard of proof – prosecution must prove all ingredients beyond reasonable doubt.
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30 January 2018 |
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Sentenced to 6 years 5 months for aggravated defilement after guilty plea, with remand credit and reduced guilty‑plea discount.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement (s.129(3),(4)(a) Penal Code) – sentencing principles and ranges under the 2013 Sentencing Guidelines; abuse of trust and repeat offending as aggravating factors; guilty plea discount when entered late; remand credit.
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29 January 2018 |
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Court convicted accused on guilty plea for aggravated defilement and sentenced him to 11 years 9 months after plea credit and remand set-off.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – Sentencing – Application of Sentencing Guidelines – appropriateness of death or life sentences – credit for plea entered on day of hearing – remand time set-off – offender HIV status and knowledge thereof as aggravating factor.
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29 January 2018 |
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Late guilty plea and partial mental impairment reduced a murder sentence to fifteen years’ imprisonment after remand credit.
Criminal law – Murder – Sentence on guilty plea; mental disorder versus legal insanity; late guilty plea discount under Sentencing Guidelines; remand credit; refusal of death penalty where extenuating circumstances present.
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19 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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18 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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18 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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17 January 2018 |
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Acquitted of aggravated defilement for lack of proof of sexual penetration; convicted and sentenced for attempted aggravated defilement.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – sufficiency of circumstantial and medical evidence to prove penetration; Attempt – when overt acts amount to attempt; Identification evidence; Intoxication not a defence for crimes of basic intent; Sentencing – application of sentencing guidelines and deduction of remand time.
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17 January 2018 |
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Death and malice proved, but identity and participation of the accused were not established beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder: proof of death, unlawful killing and malice; reliability of identification evidence; circumstantial evidence and common intention; alibi and delays affecting prosecutions.
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17 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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16 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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16 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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16 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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16 January 2018 |
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A police officer convicted of murder and attempted murder where intentional driving conduct, not accident, caused death and serious injury.
Criminal law – Murder – Malice aforethought may be inferred from deliberate driving conduct, dragging and lack of mechanical defect. Criminal law – Attempted murder – intention, act in furtherance and responsibility proven by same conduct. Evidence – Identification and eyewitness corroboration; post‑mortem and vehicle inspection reports. Defence – Accident/loss of control rejected where evidence shows deliberate acceleration and absence of defects. Sentencing – aggravating factors (police killing colleagues) balanced against age and serious illness as mitigation.
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16 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Accused convicted on a valid guilty plea to aggravated defilement; court accepted plea agreement and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment.
Criminal law – Plea bargaining – Validity of plea: requirement of voluntary, knowing and intelligent plea and factual basis. Sentencing – Aggravated defilement – Consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors and application of sentencing guidelines and appellate precedent. Remand – Time spent on remand to be taken into account.
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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Court accepted a voluntary guilty plea and imposed 10 years’ imprisonment for aggravated defilement of a three-year-old.
Aggravated defilement; plea bargaining – voluntariness and factual basis; sentencing – application of sentencing guidelines and appellate precedents; aggravating v. mitigating factors; custodial term of ten years for defilement of a three-year-old.
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10 January 2018 |
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Criminal law
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10 January 2018 |
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The accused pleaded guilty to aggravated defilement of a six‑year‑old; court accepted plea bargain and imposed ten‑year imprisonment.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement – guilty plea following plea bargaining – sufficiency of factual basis for conviction; sentencing – application of sentencing guidelines and appellate precedents; aggravating and mitigating factors, including victim’s age and pre‑sentence remand period.
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10 January 2018 |
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5 January 2018 |