Wakilii

Mukankusi and Another v Uganda (Criminal Session 42 of 2023)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 1233 · 2024 Conviction Entered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial before the High Court for murder arising from Kisoro magistrate proceedings
Decision
Both accused convicted of murder and awaiting sentencing

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mukankusi Fausta (A1) and Niyonzima Innocent (A2) were guilty of the murder of Florence Bashimiki. The court found that A1 was the architect of the plot to kill her mother over a land and housing dispute, and that A2 carried out the actual killing with the assistance of A3 (A1's son). Circumstantial evidence including the recovery of the deceased's phone from A2, the sale of stolen beans by A2 and A3, and witness testimony linking the accused to the crime scene established their guilt. Both accused were convicted of murder under sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act.

Outcome

Both accused convicted of murder and awaiting sentencing

Facts

On 2 September 2022, Florence Bashimiki was found dead in her home in Nyaruyaga cell, Kisoro District, lying in a pool of blood with severe head injuries. The deceased had been struck on the head with a blunt instrument causing depressed skull fractures. A sack of beans, a solar battery, and her mobile phone were stolen from her house. The phone was later traced to A2, who claimed he purchased it from A3. A3 (the deceased's grandson and A1's son) had pleaded guilty under plea bargain and was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment. Evidence showed that A1 had ongoing disputes with her mother over a house and had made threats against her in August 2022. Witnesses testified that A2 and A3 arrived together in a vehicle to sell 130kg of beans shortly after the murder. A3 had allegedly told investigators that A1 planned the murder and asked him to guide A2 to the crime scene.

Issues

  1. Whether the death of Florence Bashimiki was proved.
  2. Whether the death was caused by an unlawful act.
  3. Whether the unlawful act was actuated by malice aforethought.
  4. Whether the accused persons participated in causing the unlawful death.
  5. Whether the defence of alibi raised by the accused persons was credible.

Orders

  • A1 (Mukankusi Fausta) found guilty of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act.
  • A2 (Niyonzima Innocent) found guilty of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act.
  • A1 and A2 convicted of murder.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Elements — Death of a Human Being — Proof by Post-Mortem Report and Witness Testimony
Death of a human being in a murder prosecution may be proved by production of a post-mortem report or by evidence of a witness who states that they knew the deceased and attended the burial or saw the body.
Murder — Malice Aforethought — Inference from Targeting Vulnerable Part of Body
Malice aforethought may be inferred from the nature of the weapon used, the part of the body targeted, the manner in which the weapon was used, and the conduct of the accused before, during and after the incident. The head is a vulnerable and sensitive part of the body that when targeted with brutal force leaving extensive injuries demonstrates an intention to cause death.
Circumstantial Evidence — Standard of Proof — Incompatibility with Innocence
In a case depending exclusively on circumstantial evidence, the court must find before acting upon a conviction that the inculpatory facts are incompatible with the innocence of the accused and incapable of explanation upon any other reasonable hypothesis than guilt. Before drawing the inference of guilt from circumstantial evidence, the court must be sure that there are no other co-existing circumstances which would weaken or destroy the inference.
Common Intention — Joint Enterprise — Liability of All Participants
Under section 20 of the Penal Code Act, when two or more persons form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose in conjunction with one another and in the prosecution of that purpose an offence is committed of such nature that the commission was a probable consequence of that purpose, each of them is deemed to have committed the offence. The person who plans the murder is as guilty as the person who carries out the actual killing.
Defence — Alibi — Burden on Prosecution to Discredit
Where an accused person raises the defence of alibi, the onus is on the prosecution to discredit this defence and to place the accused person at the scene of crime.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (7)

  • Ssekitoleko v Uganda (1961) EA 531
  • R v Gusambizi s/o Wesonga (1948) EACA 65
  • R v Tubere s/o Ochen (1945) 12 EACA 63
  • Okello Okidi v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 1995)
  • Kyalimpa Edward v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1995)
  • Simon Musoke v Uganda (1958) EA
  • Teper v R (1952) AC 480

Full judgment

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

Mukankusi and Another v Uganda (Criminal Session 42 of 2023) [2024] UGHC 1233 (16 July 2024)
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.