Wakilii

Atukwasa Jonan & 6 Others V Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 168 of 2018)

Court of Appeal · [2019] UGCA 159 · 2019 Sentence Reduced AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal against sentence from High Court murder conviction
Decision
Appeal against sentence partly allowed; sentences reduced from 25 years to 14½ years' imprisonment for each appellant, running from the date of conviction.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

On a sentence-only appeal against a murder conviction, the Court of Appeal held that article 23(8) of the Constitution does not require an arithmetical deduction of remand time in the sentencing order; it is sufficient that the trial judge demonstrably took the period into account, so the first ground failed. However, considering sentencing parity and that the appellants acted as a mob rather than committing cold-blooded murder, the court found the 25-year sentences manifestly harsh and excessive. It set an appropriate term of 18 years, deducted the 3½ years spent on remand, and substituted sentences of 14½ years for each appellant.

Outcome

Appeal against sentence partly allowed; sentences reduced from 25 years to 14½ years' imprisonment for each appellant, running from the date of conviction.

Facts

On 30 May 2007 at Kinyantale village, Kyenjojo District, the appellants together with several other persons went to the home of Kabagambe Benon armed with clubs and an axe, alleging the deceased engaged in witchcraft. The deceased was called out of his house by his brother while the others surrounded the home. The appellants began accosting him and he fled back inside and locked the door, but the pursuers broke in, forcefully removed him and assaulted him with their weapons until he died, in front of his family. The family members fled while being pursued. A post-mortem established the cause of death as haemorrhagic shock with brain damage, the deceased having been struck several times on the head. The appellants were arrested, indicted for murder, convicted and on 28 January 2011 sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment. They had spent about three and a half years on remand and were first offenders.

Issues

  1. Whether the sentence of 25 years' imprisonment was illegal for failing to expressly deduct the period spent on remand contrary to article 23(8) of the Constitution.
  2. Whether the sentence of 25 years' imprisonment was manifestly harsh and excessive.

Orders

  • Ground 1 (illegality of sentence) fails.
  • Alternative ground (manifestly harsh sentence) succeeds.
  • Sentence of 25 years' imprisonment set aside for each appellant.
  • Each appellant sentenced to 14½ years' imprisonment to be served from 28 January 2011, the date of conviction.

Rules and key headnotes

Sentencing — Remand Period — Article 23(8) of the Constitution — No mandatory arithmetical deduction
Compliance with article 23(8) of the Constitution does not require a sentencing court to expressly or arithmetically deduct the period spent on remand in the sentencing order; it suffices that the court demonstrably took the remand period into account, and the sentence will not be interfered with merely because different words were used or the deduction was not stated.
Sentencing — Appellate Interference — Manifestly harsh or excessive sentence
An appellate court will alter a sentence imposed by the trial court where the court acted on a wrong principle, overlooked a material factor, or the sentence is manifestly excessive in the circumstances; sentences imposed in previous similar cases, while not precedents, afford material for consideration.
Sentencing — Parity and Consistency — Mob killings distinguished from cold-blooded murder
Offenders who participate in a mob killing under a misguided sense of justice should not, in terms of sheer criminality, be sentenced on the same footing as those who plan and execute murder in cold blood; parity with sentences imposed in comparable cases must be considered when assessing the appropriate sentence.
Sentencing — Mitigation — Belief in witchcraft
Acting in the belief that the deceased had committed witchcraft is generally not a mitigating factor, though in appropriate circumstances it may amount to provocation, particularly where the deceased was caught in an act of witchcraft creating fear in the perpetrators.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (20)

Full judgment

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Atukwasa Jonan & 6 Others V Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 168 of 2018) [2019] UGCA 159 (19 June 2019)
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.