Kizza v Uganda (HCT-00-CR-CM 72 of 2021)
Observed later treatment
No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.
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Holding
The High Court granted bail to an accused person charged with aggravated defilement who had been on remand for over three years. The court held that proof of exceptional circumstances is not mandatory and that bail should be granted where the applicant has a fixed place of abode and substantial sureties. The court balanced the seriousness of the offence against the applicant's constitutional right to personal liberty and the presumption of innocence, finding that continued detention was not justified in the circumstances.
Outcome
Applicant released on bail pending trial subject to conditions
Facts
The applicant was charged with aggravated defilement contrary to section 129(4)(b) of the Penal Code Act and committed to the High Court in April 2019. He applied for bail pending trial. The applicant was aged 65 years, suffering from HIV and hemorrhoids, and was a widower looking after his children. He had been on remand for over three years without trial. The applicant presented evidence of a fixed place of abode at Kelezia Zone, Wabigalo Parish, Makindye Division, Kampala, on family property, and produced three sureties resident within the court's jurisdiction. The state objected on grounds that the applicant had not proved exceptional circumstances, that the sureties were not suitable, and that the accused was likely to abscond given the severity of the likely sentence.
Issues
- Whether the applicant satisfied the conditions for grant of bail pending trial under the Trial on Indictments Act.
- Whether the applicant demonstrated exceptional circumstances warranting bail.
- Whether the applicant had a fixed place of abode and substantial sureties to guarantee compliance with bail conditions.
Orders
- Application for bail granted.
- Applicant to pay cash bail of UGX 1,000,000.
- Each of the three sureties bound in the sum of UGX 50,000,000 (not cash).
- Applicant to report to the Deputy Registrar of the High Court once every month from the date of release.
Rules and key headnotes
Legislation cited (7)
- Constitution of Uganda Article 23(6)(a)
- Constitution of Uganda Article 28(3)(a)
- Constitution of Uganda Article 28(3)
- Trial on Indictments Act s.14(1)
- Trial on Indictments Act s.15
- Judicature (Criminal Procedure) (Applications) Rules S.I. 13-8 rule 2
- Penal Code Act s.129(4)(b)
Cases cited (2)
- Abindi Ronald and Another v Uganda (Miscellaneous Criminal Application No. 0020 of 2016)
- Col (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 83 of 2016)
Full judgment
The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.