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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1994 |
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Conviction upheld: circumstantial evidence and recent possession disproved alibi despite a limited trial misdirection.
Criminal law – murder and robbery – circumstantial evidence – alibi – burden of proof – recent possession doctrine – hotel register and identification issues – appellate reappraisal of evidence.
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20 December 1994 |
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15 December 1994 |
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6 December 1994 |
| November 1994 |
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Appellate court increased defamation damages where trial judge unduly discounted award based on plaintiff's alleged low status.
Defamation — assessment of general damages; appellate interference with quantum — only where award is inordinately high or low or where wrong principle or misapprehension of evidence occurred; plaintiff's social status not decisive — must be considered with gravity of imputations and proven consequences; failure to justify or apologise may increase damages.
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21 November 1994 |
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High Court wrongly dismissed appeal for want of prosecution after refusing adjournment for lead counsel’s illness; appeal allowed.
Expropriated Properties Act – certificate of repossession – appeal; Civil procedure – refusal of adjournment – discretionary exercise – necessity of medical evidence; dismissal for want of prosecution – appellate intervention where discretion not judiciously exercised; right to counsel of choice; preparation and competence of junior counsel.
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21 November 1994 |
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Appellate court set aside dismissal for want of prosecution where trial judge wrongly refused adjournment for ill lead counsel and mischaracterised appellant's interest.
* Civil procedure – adjournment – discretion to grant or refuse adjournment – exercise must be judicious and may require accepting counsel’s illness in absence of contrary evidence. * Civil procedure – dismissal for want of prosecution – appellate intervention where dismissal stems from misdirection and unjustified findings. * Expropriation law – standing – aggrieved party requires interest in rem; claimant in possession entitled to prosecute appeal.
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21 November 1994 |
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Criminal law
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17 November 1994 |
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A certificate of incorporation may be impeached for proven fraud, but winding‑up requires a proper statutory application.
Company law – Certificate of Incorporation – conclusive evidence of registration but may be impeached for fraud; fraud by backdating registration; pleading and heightened civil standard for fraud; change of company name — procedural irregularities not necessarily fatal; corporate personality — shareholder cannot sue for wrongs to the company; winding‑up requires proper application and statutory procedure.
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14 November 1994 |
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10 November 1994 |
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Appeal dismissed: court upheld identification and conviction, finding contradictions minor and circumstantial evidence corroborative.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – favourable conditions for correct identification (known person, lighting, vantage point, duration).
* Criminal law – Credibility – minor inconsistencies do not necessarily vitiate conviction.
* Evidence – Age of witness assessed at trial; no corroboration required if not of tender years.
* Evidence – Recovery of stolen property and early naming as corroborative circumstantial evidence.
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9 November 1994 |
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Appeal dismissed: identification and voluntary confession sufficiently corroborated to support murder conviction.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – favourable conditions and identification parade; Confession – voluntariness and corroboration; Child witness – not of tender years; Contradictions in evidence – when immaterial; Section 37 – duty to call witness; Alibi – evaluation by trial judge.
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9 November 1994 |
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Civil Procedure|Appeals and reviews|Contract Law|Performance of contract
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8 November 1994 |
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Criminal law
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8 November 1994 |
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8 November 1994 |
| October 1994 |
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Court upheld eyewitness identification, rejected alibi, and affirmed murder conviction and death sentence.
Criminal law – Identification at night – previous acquaintance and light from camp fire/burning houses sufficient for reliable identification; Criminal law – Alibi – inconsistency with contemporaneous documentary evidence justifies rejection; Murder – multiple serious panga injuries establish intention and support conviction.
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25 October 1994 |
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Conviction for murder quashed where identification was unreliable and accidental discharge not excluded beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder – Identification by single witness at night – Reliability of visual identification; Burden of proof – prosecution must exclude reasonable hypotheses of innocence; Accident/defence – alleged struggle and accidental discharge; Appellate review – trial judge’s improper approach to assessing defence after accepting prosecution case.
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18 October 1994 |
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Court upheld identification and conviction for robbery, affirmed sentence, and reduced compensation to Shs. 5,335,000/=.
Identification parade — recognition evidence — sufficiency of opportunity to observe — admissibility and fairness of parade; Robbery v. aggravated robbery — requirement for proof of firearm use; Asportation (taking/carrying away) as element of theft; Sentencing discretion — police officer offender; Compensation under Penal Code s.273(3) and mandatory police supervision under Trial on Indictment Decree s.123; Investigative/prosecutorial irregularities — failure to call investigating officer and unexplained disappearance of recovered cash/exhibits.
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17 October 1994 |
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Civil Procedure|Appeals and reviews
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17 October 1994 |
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17 October 1994 |
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Identification and theft proven; conviction and sentence upheld, compensation reduced and investigative irregularities referred to Attorney General.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – validity and conduct of identification parade – sufficiency of opportunity to observe – Rex v. Mwango; Ssentale v. Uganda applied.
* Evidence – exclusion of alleged confession after trial within a trial where voluntariness disputed.
* Theft/robbery – element of asportation (carrying away) – application of Halsbury on asportation.
* Sentencing – appellate review of discretion; police officer as offender; corporal punishment and police supervision orders.
* Procedural/Investigative irregularities – failure to call investigating officer; failure to produce recovered cash; unexplained provenance of exhibits; referral to Attorney General.
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16 October 1994 |
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Murder conviction reduced to manslaughter due to doubts about witness credibility and inconsistent medical evidence.
Criminal law – murder vs. manslaughter; self-defence and defence of property; credibility and corroboration of an accessory-after-the-fact witness; reliance on medical evidence for timing of fatal injuries; appellate re-evaluation of credibility and circumstantial evidence.
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6 October 1994 |
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4 October 1994 |
| September 1994 |
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13 September 1994 |
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7 September 1994 |
| August 1994 |
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1 August 1994 |
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Whether section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act covers properties taken over by the Military Regime in other ways.
Expropriated Properties Act 1982 — interpretation of s.1(1)(c) — remedial statute — whether property "in any other way appropriated or taken over by the Military Regime" requires lawful appropriation under prior decrees — expired lease revived by s.1(2)(b) — management powers of Custodian Board — repossession certificate entitlement.
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1 August 1994 |
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A remedial reading of s.1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act includes property taken by the military regime even if the taking was unlawful.
Expropriated Properties Act 1982 – interpretation of s.1(1)(c) – remedial construction – property appropriated or taken over by military regime includes unlawful dispossessions; s.1(2)(b) – continuation of expired leases pending repossession; courts cautious about declaring entitlement to repossession certificates where third-party interests may be affected.
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1 August 1994 |
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The Expropriated Properties Act, 1982 applies to property taken over by the military regime even if the original taking was unlawful; the Act is remedial.
Expropriated Properties Act 1982 – interpretation of s.1(1)(c) – "in any other way appropriated or taken over by the Military Regime" – remedial construction – covers property taken during military regime whether or not taking-over was lawful; s.1(2)(b) – expired leases continue until property dealt with under Act; remedy but not an automatic entitlement to repossession certificate where third-party interests may be affected.
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1 August 1994 |
| July 1994 |
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29 July 1994 |
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A Registrar cannot dismiss an appeal; such dismissals are ultra vires and are set aside by the Court.
* Civil procedure – Appeals – Registrar’s powers – Whether Registrar may dismiss an appeal – Registrar’s endorsement that an appeal stands dismissed is ultra vires and may be set aside.
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12 July 1994 |
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12 July 1994 |
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7 July 1994 |
| June 1994 |
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Circumstantial proof established guilt; intoxication negated murder intent so convictions upheld as manslaughter with concurrent 12‑year terms.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – identification and post-mortem reliability – effect of careless post‑mortem reports; evidentiary value of unidentified weapon and lack of chemical testing; admissibility and weight of hearsay; alibi and inference from hiding; intoxication and reduction of murder to manslaughter.
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2 June 1994 |
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2 June 1994 |
| May 1994 |
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30 May 1994 |
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17 May 1994 |
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10 May 1994 |
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Court grants time extension for serving appeal documents due to counsel's negligence affecting applicant's pursuit of appeal.
Civil Procedure – Extension of time – Appeal documents – Applicant's reliance on counsel's diligence.
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10 May 1994 |
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Appellants failed to prove lawful passenger status or injuries; contradictions justified dismissal of negligence claim.
• Carrier liability – duty to passengers and distinction between lawful/accepted passengers and trespassers; burden of proof on passenger status. • Evidence – credibility of witness testimony and medical reports; inconsistencies may justify rejection of evidence. • Negligence – failure to prove carrier’s liability where claimant’s key evidence is unreliable.
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6 May 1994 |
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5 May 1994 |
| April 1994 |
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22 April 1994 |
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11 April 1994 |
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8 April 1994 |
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8 April 1994 |
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1 April 1994 |
| March 1994 |
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25 March 1994 |
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Court quashed murder convictions lacking intent proof and independent corroboration of confessions; upheld robbery convictions where independent evidence existed.
Criminal law – confession evidence – admissibility where accused kept in military custody; confession of co-accused as weakest evidence – need for aliunde corroboration; cautioned statements taken by investigating officer; possession/production of weapon as independent evidence; intention to kill required for murder conviction; procedural safeguards for recording/translating statements; prosecution duty to investigate and produce corroborative forensic evidence.
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17 March 1994 |
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Appeal dismissed for failure to prove vehicle ownership, agency, and quantum of damages in alleged government vehicle requisition case.
Civil procedure – appellate review – burden of proof – master-servant relationship – agency – framing of issues – damages – proof of ownership – proof of loss.
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15 March 1994 |
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Convictions for treason quashed where key MI evidence was discredited and first appellant wrongly convicted for aiding without proper charge.
Criminal law – Treason – overt acts and reliance on undercover Military Intelligence witnesses; credibility and back-dated reports; conviction unsafe where key witnesses discredited; statutory relationship between general aiding/abetting provision and specific treason subsections; appellate quashing of convictions and sentences.
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4 March 1994 |
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Supreme Court upholds trial court's damages award due to lack of error in assessment of evidence.
Tort law – personal injury – assessment of damages – criteria for appellate court interference with trial court's damages award – sufficiency of evidence for increased damages.
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4 March 1994 |
