Wakilii

Feni Yasin v Uganda (Cr.Appeal No. 51 of 2006)

Court of Appeal · [2010] UGCA 29 · 2010 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from High Court conviction for murder and death sentence
Decision
Appeal dismissed; conviction for murder and death sentence confirmed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction for murder and the death sentence. The appellant abandoned his original denial and instead argued the defences of intoxication and provocation. The Court held that intoxication was not available because mere witness opinion that the appellant 'appeared drunk' was not evidence that he was so intoxicated he did not know what he was doing under section 12(2) of the Penal Code Act. Provocation failed because, applying the objective test of an ordinary person in the locality, the deceased said nothing provocative. The Court considered mitigation following Kigula but found no reason to interfere with the lawful death sentence.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; conviction for murder and death sentence confirmed

Facts

The appellant, aged 35, was being accommodated in the house of his step-grandmother, the 70-year-old deceased. On 9 December 2002 at Ogayi village, Muni, Arua District, the appellant returned home late at around 8:00pm. The deceased asked why he was late. He replied that he did not wish to talk to her because she had criticised him and Magezi for bringing maize and beans that caused her heart burn. The deceased denied saying so. The appellant kicked her violently on the chest and stomach three times, then picked a dry piece of wood and beat her in the chest and stomach several times. She cried for mercy but he did not stop, and he scared away family members who tried to help. She crawled to her house and the appellant closed the door. Family members reported to police, but by the time the door was opened the deceased was already dead. The appellant denied the charge, claiming she died of natural causes, but the trial court accepted the prosecution evidence and convicted him of murder.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial judge correctly considered and dismissed the defence of intoxication.
  2. Whether the trial judge correctly considered and dismissed the defence of provocation.
  3. Whether the death sentence should be varied in light of mitigating factors.

Orders

  • The appeal against conviction is dismissed.
  • The plea in mitigation of sentence is denied.
  • The death sentence is confirmed.
  • The whole appeal is dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Defences — Intoxication — Standard under Penal Code Act s.12(2)
The defence of intoxication is only available where the accused was so intoxicated that he did not know that his act was wrong or did not know what he was doing; a mere witness opinion that the accused appeared drunk is not evidence of such intoxication.
Defences — Intoxication — Duty of trial judge to consider defence emerging from evidence
Even where an accused does not raise the defence of intoxication, the trial judge is obliged to consider it where it faintly emerges from the evidence.
Defences — Provocation — Objective test of an ordinary person in the locality
Provocation under section 193 of the Penal Code Act is assessed by an objective test of an ordinary person in the locality of the accused, and a trivial or non-provocative statement that would not deprive such a person of self-control cannot found the defence.
Sentencing — Death sentence — Discretion to hear mitigation following Kigula
Following Attorney General v Susan Kigula, an appellate court may hear an appellant in mitigation of a death sentence, but where aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors the court need not interfere with a lawful death sentence.
Opinion evidence — Witness impression distinguished from proof of fact
A witness's expression of opinion that an accused appeared drunk constitutes the opinion of the witness and not evidence of the fact or degree of intoxication.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (4)

  • Kiyengo v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 35 of 2003)
  • Philibert Vs R [1976-1985] 1EA 477
  • Yovan Vs Uganda [1970]1EA 405
  • Attorney General Vs Suzan Kigula and 417 others

Full judgment

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

Feni Yasin v Uganda (Cr.Appeal No. 51 of 2006) [2010] UGCA 29 (28 June 2010)
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.