Wakilii

Bukenya Patrick & anoer v uganda (Criminal Appeal No.15 of 1999)

Court of Appeal · [2001] UGCA 13 · 2001 Appeal Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from High Court conviction for aggravated robbery and sentence of death
Decision
Convictions and death sentences upheld; both appeals dismissed

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed both appeals against conviction for aggravated robbery. The second appellant was properly identified by voice by a witness who knew him well, and her evidence did not require corroboration as a matter of law because the question whether a witness is a child of tender years arises at the time of trial, not at the time of the offence; at trial she was 14. Her identification was in any case corroborated by the second appellant's sudden disappearance. The first appellant was found in possession of stolen property within 24 hours and gave contradictory explanations, raising a strong presumption of participation under the doctrine of recent possession.

Facts

On 8 May 1996 at about 3a.m., a group of thugs armed with a panga and torches forced their way into the complainant's home in Njara, Fort Portal. They threatened the complainant with the panga, demanded money, and stole household property and cash of Shs. 300,000. A girl in the house, aged 11, recognised the second appellant by voice; she had known him for three years and he had previously slept at their home and frequented their shop. On 17 June 1996 the complainant saw the first appellant wearing the top of a stolen Kaunda suit, raised an alarm, and the first appellant was arrested; other stolen property was recovered from his mother's home. The first appellant gave inconsistent accounts of how he acquired the property. The second appellant disappeared from the village after the robbery and was later picked at an identification parade in 1997.

Issues

  1. Whether the prosecution evidence was sufficient and reliable to connect the second appellant with the robbery through voice identification.
  2. Whether the evidence of an 11-year-old witness required corroboration as a matter of law.
  3. Whether the doctrine of recent possession of stolen property justified the conviction of the first appellant.

Orders

  • Appeal of the second appellant dismissed.
  • Appeal of the first appellant dismissed.
  • Appeal of the appellants dismissed.

Key headnotes

Evidence — Identification — Recognition by Voice
A witness who is well acquainted with an accused's voice over a period of time may reliably identify that accused by voice during an offence, and such identification can be sufficient to ground a conviction.
Evidence — Child Witness — Corroboration — Time at which 'tender years' is assessed
Whether a witness is a child of tender years requiring corroboration is determined at the time of trial, not at the time the offence was committed; a witness aged 14 at trial is not a child of tender years even though aged 11 when the offence occurred.
Criminal Law — Doctrine of Recent Possession of Stolen Property
Where an accused is found in possession of recently stolen property and offers contradictory or false explanations for that possession, a strong presumption of participation in the theft arises and may support a conviction.
Criminal Law — Defence of Alibi — When raised
A defence does not raise an alibi where the accused does not assert that he was elsewhere at the time of the offence; an account placing the accused elsewhere on a different day does not constitute an alibi.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Penal Code Act s.272
  • Penal Code Act s.273(2)

Cases cited (1)

  • John Muchami alias Kalule v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 1993)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.