Wakilii

Oketch David v Uganda [2003] UGSC 17

Supreme Court · 2003 Appeal Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second criminal appeal to the Supreme Court from the Court of Appeal's dismissal of an appeal against conviction for aggravated robbery and murder
Decision
Appeal dismissed; conviction and death sentence for aggravated robbery and murder upheld

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Holding

The Supreme Court dismissed a second appeal against conviction for aggravated robbery and murder. It held that a policeman's remark that the appellant had "suffered for nothing" did not amount to an inducement within section 25 of the Evidence Act and did not influence the confession. The magistrate's caution that the appellant was "free to say what he knew" was a mere irregularity that did not affect the confession's admissibility or voluntariness. The Court further held there was no inconsistency between the witnesses' accounts of when the bicycle was removed, and that any such contradiction would have been minor and immaterial. The conviction and death sentence were upheld.

Facts

On the night of 3 August 1993, the deceased Joseph Olweny and his family were sleeping at their home in Namwendia village, Tororo. The deceased's half-brother, Godfrey Onyango, called the deceased out by falsely claiming his cattle had strayed and were destroying a neighbour's crops. When the deceased opened the door, Onyango and two other attackers entered, assaulted the deceased and his wife, dragged the deceased outside and shot him dead. The robbers carried away property including a bicycle. On 26 August 1993 the appellant was arrested at Namulumba village, Iganga district, in possession of the deceased's robbed bicycle. On 31 August 1993 he made a confessional statement to a Magistrate Grade II at Tororo, admitting participation in the murder and robbery. At trial he denied the offences, claimed he was at home, and said he had only confessed because he was beaten on arrest. The trial court rejected his account, convicted him on both counts and sentenced him to death; the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal.

Issues

  1. Whether the appellant's confession was rendered involuntary and inadmissible by an inducement, given remarks by a policeman that the appellant had "suffered for nothing" and the magistrate's words that he was "free to say what he knew about the case".
  2. Whether the Court of Appeal, as a first appellate court, failed to re-evaluate the evidence and resolve alleged inconsistencies in the prosecution case in favour of the appellant.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.

Key headnotes

Confessions — Voluntariness — Inducement under section 25 of the Evidence Act
A police remark that an accused had "suffered for nothing" does not amount to an inducement within the meaning of section 25 of the Evidence Act where there is nothing on the record showing that the words influenced the accused to confess.
Confessions — Caution by recording magistrate — Effect of irregular wording
A magistrate's improper caution telling an accused he is "free to say what he knows about the case" is a mere irregularity that does not affect the admissibility or voluntariness of the resulting confession.
Witness testimony — Inconsistencies and contradictions in the prosecution case
A contradiction or inconsistency in the prosecution case that is major and goes to the root of the case must be resolved in favour of the accused, but a minor inconsistency that is not a deliberate lie intended to deceive the court should be ignored.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Penal Code Act s.272
  • Penal Code Act s.273(2)
  • Penal Code Act s.183
  • Penal Code Act s.184
  • Evidence Act s.25

Cases cited (1)

  • Alfred Tarjar v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 167 of 1969)
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.