Taremwa v Uganda (Crim Appeal No. 09 of 2008)

Court of Appeal · [2013] UGCA 3 · 2013 Sentence Set Aside ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Criminal appeal from High Court conviction and sentence for murder

Decision

Sentence of life imprisonment set aside; appellant ordered released immediately

The full judgment

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Holding

The Court of Appeal set aside the appellant's sentence of life imprisonment for murder. The appellant was 17 years old at the time of the offence and was therefore a child under the Children Act. He ought to have been sentenced by the Family and Children Court under section 94, which limits detention to three years for child offenders. The life sentence was illegal and occasioned a miscarriage of justice. The inordinate delay of nearly five years in hearing the appeal, during which the appellant served 8 years and 11 months in prison, contravened Articles 28(1) and 126(2)(b) of the Constitution. The Court ordered the appellant's immediate release.

Facts

The appellant was indicted for the murder of Bishanga David, alleged to have occurred around November 2003 in Mbarara District. The deceased left home one evening and did not return; his body was found the next day along a path, bearing a deep head wound, chest bruises and fractured chest bones, with death caused by internal chest bleeding. The appellant and his uncle were arrested. The appellant made an extra-judicial statement before a magistrate confessing to murdering his father, but retracted it at trial and pleaded not guilty. The trial judge convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment on 4 February 2008; his co-accused was acquitted. On appeal it was established that the appellant was 17 years old at the time of the offence and therefore a child under the Children Act. The appeal, filed in February 2008, was not heard until December 2012, during which time the appellant served 8 years and 11 months in prison.

Issues

Whether the trial court had jurisdiction to sentence the appellant, who was a child at the time of the offence, to life imprisonment.
Whether the inordinate delay in hearing the appeal violated the appellant's constitutional right to a speedy trial.

Orders

The sentence imposed by the trial court is set aside.
The appellant be released immediately.

Key headnotes

Sentencing — Child Offenders — Jurisdiction of Family and Children Court

A person who was a child at the time of committing an offence must be sentenced by the Family and Children Court in accordance with section 94 of the Children Act, and a sentence of life imprisonment imposed on such a person by the High Court is illegal and occasions a miscarriage of justice.

Child Offenders — Maximum Detention — Section 94(1)(g) Children Act

Under section 94(1)(g) of the Children Act, a child offender above 16 years convicted of an offence punishable by death may be detained for a maximum of three years.

Right to Speedy Trial — Inordinate Delay in Hearing Appeal

Inordinate delay in hearing a criminal appeal which contributes to the appellant's unlawful continued imprisonment contravenes the right to a speedy and fair hearing under Article 28(1) and the principle that justice shall not be delayed under Article 126(2)(b) of the Constitution, and occasions a miscarriage of justice.

Legislation cited (8)

Penal Code Act s.188
Penal Code Act s.189
Evidence Act s.23
Children Act s.2
Children Act s.94
Children Act s.94(1)(g)
Constitution of Uganda Article 28(1)
Constitution of Uganda Article 126(2)(b)

Cases cited (1)

[2002] UKPC D 1

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.