Wakilii

Mellan Mareere v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application No. 52 of 2017)

Court of Appeal · [2018] UGCA 31 · 2018 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for bail pending determination of a criminal appeal against conviction and sentence for murder
Decision
Application for bail pending appeal dismissed; applicant to remain in custody with the appeal to be expedited

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

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 Court of Appeal dismissed an application for bail pending appeal by a 73-year-old woman convicted of murder. The court held that after conviction the presumption of innocence ends and the onus shifts to the applicant to prove exceptional circumstances, applying principles from Arvind Patel and section 15 of the Trial on Indictment Act. Although the applicant did not physically participate in the killing, the court found it doubtful she would be absolved of all liability given evidence she incited the mob, and she might still face lesser cognate offences carrying significant sentences. Her ill-health was not certified as unmanageable in custody, and there was no evidence the appeal would not be heard within a year.

Outcome

Application for bail pending appeal dismissed; applicant to remain in custody with the appeal to be expedited

Facts

The applicant, an LC5 woman councillor aged about 73, was convicted of murder and sentenced on 7 June 2017 to roughly 29 years and 10 months imprisonment. The conviction arose from mob violence in which the deceased was assaulted and his house burnt down. The applicant was not seen physically assaulting the deceased or burning the house. The case against her was that, after a fight in which the deceased seriously injured one Charles Muhimbise (who was taken to hospital alive), she informed bystanders that the deceased had killed Muhimbise and urged the crowd to avenge his death, blocked someone from reporting the events to police, and instructed someone to light a mattress cover for quicker burning. The trial judge convicted her on the doctrine of common intention under section 20 of the Penal Code Act. She had complied with bail terms granted during her trial. She suffered from cardiac disease, HIV, bronchial asthma and hypertension, supported by two medical reports. She applied for bail pending her appeal against conviction and sentence.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant, a convicted murderer, demonstrated that her appeal had an overwhelming probability of success so as to justify bail pending appeal.
  2. Whether the applicant's advanced age and ill-health constituted exceptional circumstances justifying release on bail pending appeal.
  3. Whether it was likely the appeal would not be heard before the expiration of the sentence, warranting bail pending appeal.

Orders

  • Application for bail pending appeal disallowed.
  • Hearing of the appeal to be expedited.

Rules and key headnotes

Bail Pending Appeal — Presumption of Innocence — Shift of Onus After Conviction
The presumption of innocence ends upon conviction, and the onus shifts to the convicted applicant to demonstrate why bail pending appeal should be granted; such bail cannot be considered more lightly than bail pending trial where exceptional circumstances must be proved.
Bail Pending Appeal — Conditions — Overwhelming Probability of Success
Bail pending appeal for a person serving a severe sentence may be granted only in exceptional and unusual circumstances depending on the facts of each case, including an overwhelming probability of the appeal succeeding; a combination of two or more relevant criteria may suffice.
Bail Pending Appeal — Likelihood of Success — Cognate Offences
Where it is doubtful that a successful appeal would absolve the applicant of all criminal liability because the evidence may support conviction for lesser cognate offences carrying substantial sentences, the appeal cannot be said to have an overwhelming chance of success justifying bail.
Bail Pending Appeal — Ill-Health — Statutory Certification
Illness per se is not a ground for release on bail; under section 15(3)(a) of the Trial on Indictment Act it must be certified by a medical officer of the prison that the grave illness cannot be adequately treated while the accused is in custody.
Bail Pending Appeal — Delay in Hearing Appeal
Bail may be granted where it is likely the applicant will have served the sentence before the appeal is heard, rendering the appeal abortive; this principle does not apply where, even on a successful appeal, the applicant is unlikely to be absolved of a serious offence and has served only a small fraction of the sentence.

Legislation cited (16)

Cases cited (12)

  • Arvind Patel v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 1 of 2003)
  • Alenyo Marks v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application No. 5 of 2015)
  • Okethi and Others v Rep [1965] EA 555
  • Sheikh Yunus Kamoga v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 77 of 2017)
  • Raghbir Singh Lamba v R [1958] 1 EA 337
  • Girdhar Dhanji Masrani v R [1960] 1 EA 320
  • Chimambhai v Republic (No. 2) [1971] 1 EA 343
  • Kaguma v Republic [2004] 1 EA 68
  • Busiku Thomas v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 33 of 2011)
  • Kairu Arajab and Kange Patrick v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application No. 34 of 2014)
  • Uganda v Francis Gayira & Another [1994 - 1995] HCB 16
  • Norman Anthony Paul Cullis, David John Nash Criminal Appeal Cases (1968) page 162

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Mellan Mareere v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application No. 52 of 2017) [2018] UGCA 31 (25 May 2018)
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.