Wakilii

Baluku v Uganda (Criminal Appeal 25 of 2021)

Supreme Court · [2023] UGSC 39 · 2023 Appeal Struck Out ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second criminal appeal from the Court of Appeal against conviction and sentence for murder
Decision
Appeal struck out as incompetent for being filed out of time; conviction and sentence undisturbed

The full judgment

Read the complete, verbatim text of this judgment.

Sign in to read the full judgment

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions — always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The respondent raised a preliminary objection that the appeal was incompetent because the notice of appeal was lodged on 19 April 2021, about four months after the Court of Appeal delivered judgment on 10 December 2020, far beyond the fourteen-day period required by section 28(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code Act and rule 57 of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions. No extension of time under rule 5 had been sought or granted. The Supreme Court upheld the objection, holding that the appellant had no right to be before or heard by the court, and struck out the appeal without considering its merits.

Facts

On 2 June 2013 at about 6:00 pm at Nyabirongo II Village, Kasese District, a mob armed with sticks, hoes and other dangerous weapons attacked the home of the deceased, Mbambu Zeulia, and her family. The deceased and her daughter (PW2) fled, but the mob caught and killed the deceased. PW2 hid in a nearby bush and testified that she witnessed the appellant and others assault and kill her mother. She remained hidden, later travelled to Hima and reported to police about a week later. The appellant and five others were arrested and tried at the High Court at Fort Portal; the five co-accused were acquitted and only the appellant was convicted and sentenced to 33 years and one month. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence to 18 years and one month. The appellant filed his notice of appeal to the Supreme Court on 19 April 2021, about four months after the Court of Appeal judgment of 10 December 2020.

Issues

  1. Whether the appeal is competent where the notice of appeal was lodged approximately four months after the delivery of judgment, beyond the fourteen-day limit prescribed by section 28(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code Act and rule 57 of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions, without any extension of time being sought or granted.

Orders

  • The preliminary objection raised by the respondent is upheld.
  • The appeal is struck out.

Key headnotes

Criminal Law & Procedure — Appeals — Notice of Appeal — Statutory Time Limit
A notice of appeal must be lodged with the Registrar within fourteen days of the date of judgment as required by section 28(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code Act and rule 57 of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions; a notice filed outside that period without an extension of time renders the appeal incompetent.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Appeals — Extension of Time — Rule 5
Where an appeal is lodged out of time, the appellant must apply for and obtain an extension of time under rule 5 of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions; absent such leave, the appellant has no right to be before or heard by the court and the appeal must be struck out.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Criminal Procedure Code Act s.28(1)
  • Judicature Act s.5(3)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions rule 5
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions rule 57
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions rule 62(2)

Cases cited (12)

  • Bogere Moses v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • Jonas Ainebyona v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 19 of 2015)
  • Kamudini Mukana v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 36 of 1995)
  • Muhammed Mukasa v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 21 of 1995)
  • Abdallah Nabulere v Uganda [1979] HCB 77
  • Lt. Jonas Ainomugisha v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 19 of 2015)
  • Magala Ramadhan v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 1 of 2014)
  • Mawazi Malinga v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 43 of 2018)
  • Ssentale v Uganda [1967] EA 531
  • Aniseth v Republic [1963] EA 206
  • Mweru Ali & 2 Ors v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 33 of 2003)
  • Bwarenga Adonia v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 45 of 2016)
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.