Wakilii

Aramanthan Hassan & Anor v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 715 of 2015)

Court of Appeal · [2020] UGCA 133 · 2020 Appeal Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from High Court conviction and sentence for murder and aggravated robbery
Decision
1st appellant acquitted and ordered released; 2nd appellant's conviction upheld but sentence reduced to 35 years (murder) and 20 years (aggravated robbery), concurrent, less remand.

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The Court of Appeal allowed the 1st appellant's appeal against conviction, holding that a co-accused's confession is weak evidence which cannot found a conviction unless supported by substantial independent evidence; here the only supporting evidence (sandals) was unreliable and never formally exhibited. The 2nd appellant's conviction was upheld, as his retracted charge and caution statement was properly admitted following a trial within a trial and corroborated. Failure to record a plea was not fatal given an interpreter's presence and Article 126(2)(e). The omnibus 50-year sentence was set aside as ambiguous, harsh and excessive; the 2nd appellant was re-sentenced to 35 years for murder and 20 years for aggravated robbery, concurrent, less remand.

Outcome

1st appellant acquitted and ordered released; 2nd appellant's conviction upheld but sentence reduced to 35 years (murder) and 20 years (aggravated robbery), concurrent, less remand.

Facts

On the night of 4 November 2010 at Kisoro Hill Village, Kisoro Town Council, the two appellants and seven others were alleged to have stolen a motorcycle from Ndatira Dick and, immediately before or after the theft, used iron bars on the victim, causing injuries that resulted in his death. All were charged with murder and aggravated robbery. At trial in the High Court at Kabale, the prosecution called 15 witnesses. The seven other accused were acquitted; both appellants were convicted and each sentenced to 50 years imprisonment. The case against the 1st appellant rested on sandals allegedly recovered at the scene and a confession by the 2nd appellant. The sandals evidence was contradictory (differing colour descriptions), never formally exhibited, and the 2nd appellant's charge and caution statement named 'Eriya Ramazan', whose identity as the 1st appellant was never established. The 2nd appellant's conviction rested on his retracted charge and caution statement, admitted after a trial within a trial.

Issues

  1. Whether a confession by a co-accused, unsupported by independent substantial evidence, could sustain the conviction of the 1st appellant.
  2. Whether the trial Judge properly admitted and relied upon the retracted charge and caution statement of the 2nd appellant.
  3. Whether the failure to record that the appellants took a plea, and to take a plea on the amended indictment, vitiated the trial.
  4. Whether the 2nd appellant's case was properly summed up to the assessors.
  5. Whether an omnibus sentence of 50 years covering two distinct offences was a valid and lawful sentence.
  6. Whether the sentence of 50 years imprisonment was harsh and excessive.

Orders

  • Appeal of the 1st appellant Aramanthan Hassan allowed as to conviction for murder and aggravated robbery.
  • 1st appellant to be released from prison forthwith unless held on another lawful offence.
  • Appeal of the 2nd appellant against conviction for murder and aggravated robbery dismissed.
  • Appeal of the 2nd appellant against sentence allowed; omnibus sentence of 50 years set aside.
  • 2nd appellant sentenced to 35 years imprisonment for murder and 20 years for aggravated robbery, to run concurrently.
  • Remand period of 3 years and 3 months deducted, so 2nd appellant serves 31 years 9 months for murder and 16 years 9 months for aggravated robbery, commencing 3 July 2014.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Evidence — Confession by Co-accused — Corroboration Requirement
A confession by one accused implicating a co-accused jointly tried for the same offence cannot form the basis of a conviction of that co-accused; being a weak form of evidence made in the co-accused's absence and untested by cross-examination, it may only be used to supplement substantial independent evidence.
Criminal Evidence — Retracted Confession — Trial within a Trial — Voluntariness
Where an accused objects to the admissibility of a confession on the ground that it was not voluntary, the court must hold a trial within a trial; the prosecution bears the onus of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the confession was made voluntarily and not caused by violence, force, threat, inducement or promise under section 24 of the Evidence Act.
Trial Procedure — Failure to Record Plea — Substantive Justice under Article 126(2)(e)
Failure to record that an accused took a plea, or to take a plea on an amended indictment, is not fatal to a trial where an interpreter was present, the accused understood and participated fully in the proceedings, and no failure of justice resulted; courts apply substantive justice without undue regard to technicalities.
Sentencing — Distinct Offences — Prohibition on Omnibus Sentences
Where an accused is convicted at one trial of two or more distinct offences, the court must specify a distinct sentence for each offence under section 2(2) of the Trial on Indictments Act; a single ambiguous omnibus sentence covering multiple offences is unlawful and liable to be set aside.
Sentencing — Appellate Interference — Consistency and Uniformity
An appellate court will interfere with a trial court's sentence only where it is illegal, based on wrong principles, or manifestly excessive or so low as to occasion a miscarriage of justice; courts should observe consistency and uniformity in sentencing having regard to comparable precedents.

Legislation cited (13)

Cases cited (17)

  • Andrew Walusimbi and Others v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 28 of 1992)
  • Naturinda Tomson v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2015)
  • Okuja Francis v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 144 of 2014)
  • Adan v Republic [1973] EA 445
  • Twamoi v R (1967) E.A 84
  • Kiwalabye v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 143 of 2001)
  • Karisa Moses v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 23 of 2016)
  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
  • Oryem Richard and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 2 of 2002)
  • Walugembe v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 39 of 2003)
  • Rashid v Republic (1969) EA 138
  • Bashir Ssali v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 40 of 2003)
  • Mbunya Godfrey v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 4 of 2011)
  • Ojok Christopher and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 183 and 193 of 2013)
  • Bakubya Mazamiru and Jumba Tamale Musa v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 56 of 2015)
  • Kyalimpa Edward v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1995)
  • Abaasa Johnson Muhwezi Siriri v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 33 of 2010)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Aramanthan Hassan & Anor v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 715 of 2015) [2020] UGCA 133 (20 November 2020)
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.