Wakilii

Mubale Peter v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 82 of 2018)

Court of Appeal · [2018] UGCA 16 · 2018 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for bail pending the hearing and determination of a criminal appeal
Decision
Bail granted pending the hearing and determination of Criminal Appeal No. 290 of 2017, on conditions

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The single judge held that bail pending appeal is discretionary and not a right, and that a convicted applicant must show exceptional reasons because he is no longer fully protected by the presumption of innocence. The court declined to treat 55 years as advanced age, holding that, given increased life expectancy in Uganda, advanced age should be regarded as 60 years. Nevertheless, applying the Arvind Patel guidelines, the court was satisfied the applicant met the conditions: he had complied with prior bail terms, deposited security, and was likely to serve a substantial part of his sentence before his appeal was heard. Bail was accordingly granted on conditions.

Outcome

Bail granted pending the hearing and determination of Criminal Appeal No. 290 of 2017, on conditions

Facts

The applicant was charged and convicted of embezzlement, fraudulent false accounting, and theft, and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and ordered to compensate the complainant UGX 262,269,710. Dissatisfied with the judgment, he appealed against both conviction and sentence vide Criminal Appeal No. 290 of 2017, which was pending before the Court of Appeal. He then applied for bail pending appeal, asserting that the appeal was neither frivolous nor vexatious, that there was a possibility of substantial delay in its prosecution, that the offence did not involve personal violence, that he was a 55-year-old first-time offender of good character with a fixed place of abode at Luzira, and that he had substantial sureties. He had complied with bail conditions in the High Court Anti-Corruption Division, depositing a land title and UGX 7,000,000. The respondent opposed the application, arguing the presumption of innocence did not assist a convict and that, having been convicted of taking a colossal sum, he was likely to abscond.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant, a convicted person, satisfied the conditions for grant of bail pending the hearing and determination of his criminal appeal.
  2. Whether the applicant at 55 years of age qualified as being of advanced age.

Orders

  • The applicant is granted bail pending appeal.
  • The applicant shall deposit a cash bail of UGX 20,000,000 in this Court in addition to the UGX 7,000,000 deposited in the High Court.
  • The land title of Plot 1416 Block 236 at Bweyogerere Kyadondo shall remain in the court's custody until the appeal is disposed of.
  • The three sureties are approved and shall each execute a non-cash bond of UGX 5,000,000.
  • The applicant shall report to the Registrar of this Court on the last working day of every month from 31st May 2018 until the appeal is disposed of.

Rules and key headnotes

Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Discretionary Nature and Exceptional Reasons
Bail pending appeal is granted at the discretion of the court and is not an automatic right; a convicted applicant, no longer fully protected by the presumption of innocence, bears the burden of proving exceptional reasons to warrant release on bail.
Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Advanced Age
In light of increased life expectancy in Uganda, an applicant should be regarded as being of advanced age at 60 years rather than 50; thus an applicant of 55 years does not necessarily qualify as being of advanced age for purposes of bail pending appeal.
Bail — Bail Pending Appeal — Prospects of Success and Delay
Without the record of proceedings of the lower court, the appellate court cannot gauge the chances of success of the appeal; however, the likelihood that the applicant will serve a substantial part of the sentence before the appeal is heard is a relevant consideration favouring bail.
Right to Bail — Article 23(6) — Right to Apply Distinguished from Right to Bail
The right under Article 23(6) of the Constitution is limited to the right to apply for bail and does not confer an automatic right to bail; the court retains discretion to grant or refuse it.

Legislation cited (14)

Cases cited (7)

  • Gregory Mugisha v Uganda (Criminal Reference No. 179 of 2011)
  • David Chandi Jamwa v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 20 of 2011)
  • Arvind Patel v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 1 of 2003)
  • Akuta Arupot Justine v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 61 of 2013)
  • John Kaye v Attorney General (Constitutional Application No. 25 of 2012)
  • Francis Ogwang v Uganda (Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 25 of 2003)
  • Kyeyune Mitala Julius v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 9 of 2016)

Full judgment

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

Mubale Peter v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 82 of 2018) [2018] UGCA 16 (16 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.