Wakilii

Mubiru & 3 Ors v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 107 of 2017)

Court of Appeal · [2019] UGCA 197 · 2019 Conviction Quashed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from High Court conviction for murder against both conviction and sentence
Decision
Appellants' convictions quashed, sentences set aside, and appellants ordered immediately released; no re-trial ordered

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against convictions for murder after the State conceded there was no evidence implicating the appellants. Having quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences, the court declined the prosecution's prayer for a re-trial. It held that a re-trial is only appropriate where there has been a mistrial, as in Kawoya v Uganda. Here the appellants had been erroneously convicted despite no incriminating evidence and ought to have been acquitted. Ordering a re-trial would expose them to double jeopardy contrary to article 28(9) of the Constitution and was therefore impermissible. The appellants were ordered released immediately.

Outcome

Appellants' convictions quashed, sentences set aside, and appellants ordered immediately released; no re-trial ordered

Facts

The four appellants were tried in the High Court and convicted of the offence of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act. They were sentenced to 37 years' imprisonment. They appealed against both conviction and sentence. At the hearing of the appeal, the Senior State Attorney appearing for the respondent conceded the appeal on the basis that there was no evidence on record implicating the appellants as having participated in the commission of the offence for which they were convicted. The State nonetheless prayed for an order of re-trial, relying on Kawoya v Uganda. The court found that the trial judge had erroneously convicted the appellants when there was no incriminating evidence at all, and that they ought to have been acquitted on the evidence adduced below.

Issues

  1. Whether the convictions for murder could stand where there was no evidence implicating the appellants.
  2. Whether the court should order a re-trial after quashing the convictions.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Conviction quashed.
  • Sentences imposed on the appellants set aside.
  • Appellants ordered immediately released.
  • Prayer for a re-trial declined.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Appeals — Conviction Unsupported by Evidence — Duty to Acquit
Where there is no evidence on the record implicating an accused in the commission of the offence charged, the accused ought to be acquitted, and a conviction entered in such circumstances cannot stand.
Re-trial — Circumstances Justifying Retrial — Mistrial Distinguished
An order for re-trial is appropriate where there has been a mistrial, but not where the accused was erroneously convicted despite an absence of incriminating evidence and ought properly to have been acquitted.
Double Jeopardy — Article 28(9) of the Constitution — Re-trial Impermissible
Ordering a re-trial of accused persons who were entitled to an acquittal would expose them to double jeopardy contrary to article 28(9) of the Constitution and is therefore not permissible.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (1)

  • [2001] UGSC 4

Full judgment

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

Mubiru & 3 Ors Vs Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 107 of 2017) [2019] UGCA 197 (2 July 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.