Okello v Uganda (Criminal Application 6 of 2017)

Supreme Court · [2018] UGSC 85 · 2018 Application Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Application by notice of motion to the Supreme Court for review of its own final judgment under the slip rule

Decision

Application for review dismissed; the Supreme Court's final judgment in Criminal Appeal No. 34 of 2014 stands undisturbed.

The full judgment

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Holding

The applicant, convicted of aggravated defilement and sentenced to 22 years' imprisonment with his conviction and sentence upheld through to a final Supreme Court appeal, applied for review under the slip rule, contending that the time spent on remand had been omitted in computing his sentence. The Court held that as the final court of appeal its judgment determines the parties' final legal position and cannot be reopened, save under the narrow slip rule which corrects an accidental slip or omission to give effect to the court's intention. Finding no basis to invoke the slip rule and that the application sought to undermine the court's final decision, the Court dismissed the application as lacking merit.

Facts

On 30 November 2010 the High Court at Gulu convicted the applicant of aggravated defilement and sentenced him to 22 years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against conviction and sentence on 18 March 2014, and the Supreme Court dismissed his second appeal on 20 September 2017. The applicant then brought this notice of motion seeking to be heard on a review of the judgment and a consequential order to correct an accidental slip or omission, contending that the period he had spent on remand was omitted when the 22-year sentence was imposed. The respondent opposed the application. Both parties filed written submissions which they adopted.

Issues

Whether the Supreme Court could review its own final judgment under the slip rule on the ground that the period spent on remand was omitted when sentence was imposed.

Orders

Application dismissed.

Key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Finality of Judgments — Decisions of the Final Court of Appeal

Where the final court of appeal delivers its judgment, that judgment determines the final legal position of the parties to the particular proceedings and brings the litigation to an end; an unsuccessful party cannot apply for its reversal, subject only to the limited application of the slip rule.

Civil Procedure — Slip Rule — Scope and Conditions for Invocation

The slip rule permits a court to correct an error arising from an accidental slip or omission in its judgment only in two circumstances: where the correction gives effect to the court's intention at the time judgment was given, or, in the case of a matter overlooked, where the court is satisfied beyond doubt as to the order it would have made had the matter been brought to its attention.

Civil Procedure — Review of Judgment — Application as Abuse of Process

An application invoking the slip rule that in substance seeks to reopen and undermine a court's final decision, rather than to correct a genuine accidental slip or omission, discloses no basis for review and will be dismissed as lacking merit.

Legislation cited (3)

Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 art.132(4)
Rules of the Supreme Court r.35(1)
Rules of the Supreme Court r.35(2)

Cases cited (3)

Lakhamshi Brothers Ltd v R. Raja & Sons [1966] EA 313
Orient Bank v Fredrick Zaabwe & Another (Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2007)
Fang Min v Dr. Kaijuka Mutabaazi Emmanuel (Civil Application No. 6 of 2009)

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.