Wakilii

Kitaka v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application 8 of 2019)

Supreme Court · [2019] UGSC 100 · 2019 Application Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to the Supreme Court for bail pending appeal against a murder conviction
Decision
Application for bail pending appeal dismissed; applicant remains in custody serving his sentence

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Holding

The Supreme Court dismissed the applicant's application for bail pending his appeal against a murder conviction and 13-year sentence. The court held that the applicant's good character, family responsibilities and business were not material once he stood convicted, and that an offence of murder involving personal violence weighs against bail. The chances of success of the appeal could not be assessed without the Court of Appeal record, and the apprehension of delay was speculative. On health, the applicant failed to show the prison authorities were incapable of managing his conditions. The presumption of innocence under Article 28(3)(a) was unavailable to a convicted person who had already lost a first appeal. No exceptional circumstances were established.

Facts

The applicant was tried and convicted of murder, contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act, by the High Court sitting at Nakawa, and sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment. His appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on 13 September 2019, upholding the conviction and sentence. He filed a notice and memorandum of appeal to the Supreme Court (Criminal Appeal No. 40 of 2019) and applied for bail pending its determination. He relied on his prior clean record, family responsibilities, fixed abode, substantial sureties, the asserted strength of his appeal, anticipated delay in hearing it, and his health. A letter from the Acting Medical Superintendent, Murchison Bay Hospital, stated he suffered from hypertensive heart disease, eye and scalp conditions, and chronic allergic bronchitis with asthmatic components, for which prison conditions were unfavourable and better health care was required. The respondent opposed the application, arguing no exceptional circumstances were shown and that the prison authorities could manage his condition.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant established exceptional circumstances justifying the grant of bail pending the determination of his appeal.
  2. Whether the applicant's health condition warranted his release on bail pending appeal.
  3. Whether the presumption of innocence under Article 28(3)(a) of the Constitution can be invoked by an applicant who has already been convicted.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.

Key headnotes

Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Exceptional Circumstances
Bail pending appeal to the Supreme Court is granted only on exceptional circumstances; the conditions need not all be present, but a combination of two or more, assessed on the facts of each case, must be established.
Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Nature of Offence — Personal Violence
Where the applicant stands convicted of an offence involving personal violence, such as murder, that factor weighs against the grant of bail pending appeal.
Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Ill Health as a Ground
Ill health justifies release on bail only where the certified medical report shows that the prison authorities are incapable of managing the applicant's medical needs; a report stating merely that the applicant requires better health care is insufficient.
Presumption of Innocence — Article 28(3)(a) — Application to a Convicted Person
The presumption of innocence under Article 28(3)(a) of the Constitution cannot be invoked by an applicant who has already been convicted and has failed in his first appeal against conviction.
Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Prospects of Success and Delay
The prospects of success of an appeal cannot be assessed from the memorandum of appeal alone or without the lower court record, and an unsupported apprehension of delay in hearing the appeal is speculative and not a ground for bail.

Legislation cited (9)

  • Rules of the Supreme Court r.6(2)(a)
  • Rules of the Supreme Court r.42
  • Rules of the Supreme Court r.43
  • Rules of the Supreme Court r.56
  • Rules of the Supreme Court r.57
  • Penal Code Act s.188
  • Penal Code Act s.189
  • Trial on Indictments Act s.15(3)(a)
  • Constitution of Uganda art.28(3)(a)

Cases cited (3)

  • Arvind Patel v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 1 of 2003)
  • Daniel Dominic Karania vs Republic, Criminal Application NAI 14 of 1986
  • a decision by this court in [name illegible], Criminal Application No. 4 of 2017
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.