NO. 3222 Private Okwera v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 520 of 2014)

Court of Appeal · [2016] UGCA 23 · 2016 Appeal Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Criminal appeal from High Court conviction for murder

Decision

Appeal dismissed; conviction upheld; appellant continues to serve 18 years' imprisonment from 22 November 2013

The full judgment

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's appeal against his conviction for murder. It held that malice aforethought was proved: under section 191 of the Penal Code Act, the intention to kill exists whether or not the person killed is the one targeted, so the fact that the appellant aimed at a different person did not negate malice. Firing a deadly weapon at a person, with the bullet fatally striking a six-year-old child, established the necessary intent, and acting on a superior's orders was immaterial. The second ground, alleging failure to evaluate evidence, was too vague and offended Rule 66(2), but on fresh scrutiny the Court found no material contradictions and upheld the conviction.

Facts

On 18 March 2001 at Labongogali Camp, Gulu District, the appellant, a UPDF soldier, together with two others dressed in military uniform and armed with guns, attacked Pw2, Pw3 and Pw4. The attackers assaulted them; Pw3 and Pw4 fled and Pw2 ran towards his house. As Pw2 attempted to enter, one attacker ordered the appellant to shoot him. The appellant fired, but the bullet missed Pw2 and instead fatally struck the deceased, Akong, a six-year-old child sleeping in the doorway, hitting her buttocks with an exit wound in her genitalia. She died en route to a nearby clinic. The appellant and two others, known to the witnesses as camp guards, were arrested. One co-accused, a minor, was removed and his case remitted to the Children's Court; another co-accused died before his appeal. The appellant admitted being at the scene, armed, and firing the gun, claiming he acted on the orders of his commander to shoot Pw2.

Issues

Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant killed the deceased with malice aforethought.
Whether the trial Judge failed to properly evaluate the evidence on record and wrongly convicted the appellant.

Orders

Ground 1 of the appeal dismissed.
Ground 2 of the appeal dismissed.
Appeal dismissed.
Appellant to continue serving the sentence of 18 years imprisonment from the date of the mitigation of sentence decision, 22 November 2013.

Key headnotes

Murder — Malice Aforethought — Transferred Malice

Malice aforethought exists where there is an intention to cause the death of any person, whether or not that person is the one actually killed; an accused who fires a deadly weapon intending to kill one person but who instead kills another acts with malice aforethought.

Murder — Malice Aforethought — Inference from Weapon and Injuries

Malice aforethought may be inferred from the weapon used, the nature of the injuries inflicted and the part of the body injured; firing a gun, a deadly weapon, causing a fatal wound to a vulnerable part of the body establishes the requisite intent.

Murder — Defence of Superior Orders

The fact that an accused fired the fatal shot in obedience to the orders of a superior is immaterial to the existence of malice aforethought and does not absolve the accused of liability for murder.

Grounds of Appeal — Sufficiency — Vague and General Grounds

A ground of appeal alleging that the trial Judge failed to properly evaluate the evidence, without specifying the particular wrong complained of, is too vague and general and offends Rule 66(2) of the Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions.

Witness Testimony — Contradictions — Materiality

Minor inconsistencies in eyewitness testimony that do not go to the core of the prosecution case do not render the evidence incredible where witnesses clearly explain the circumstances in which they observed the events.

Legislation cited (6)

Penal Code Act s.188
Penal Code Act s.189
Penal Code Act s.191
Penal Code Act s.273(2)
Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions SI 13-10 Rule 30
Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions Rule 66(2)

Cases cited (3)

Uganda v G.W. Simbwa (Criminal Appeal No. 37 of 1995)
Adonia Nakudi v Chrisant K. Mukasa (Civil Application No. 2 of 1988)
Susan Kigula decision

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.