Wakilii

Nkula Moses v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 57 of 2008)

Court of Appeal · [2008] UGCA 13 · 2008 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 to the Court of Appeal
Decision
Application for bail pending appeal dismissed; applicant to continue serving sentence pending appeal.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court considered an application for bail pending appeal by a person convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. Applying the guidelines in Arvind Patel v Uganda, the Court held that grant of bail pending appeal is a discretionary power to be exercised judiciously, weighing factors such as the applicant's character, whether the offence involved personal violence, the prospects of the appeal, likely delay, and compliance with prior bail. The Court found the offence involved personal violence, the appeal's prospects of success were not sufficiently demonstrated, delay was speculative, and only one of three proposed sureties was substantial. The application was dismissed for lack of merit.

Outcome

Application for bail pending appeal dismissed; applicant to continue serving sentence pending appeal.

Facts

The applicant was charged with murder but convicted, after trial, of the lesser cognate offence of manslaughter and sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the High Court at Kampala on 4 June 2008. He filed a notice of appeal on 5 June 2008 and a memorandum of appeal on 24 September 2008. He then applied for bail pending determination of his appeal, contending there was a possibility of substantial delay in hearing the appeal, that he had complied with bail terms during his trial, that the appeal was not frivolous as death was said to be accidental, and that the Court had discretion to grant bail. The post-mortem evidence showed the deceased sustained multiple serious head injuries consistent with an assault rather than an accidental fall, and death resulted from an unlawful act. The applicant presented three prospective sureties: his wife, his sister, and a friend.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant, a convict serving a sentence of imprisonment, satisfied the conditions for grant of bail pending the determination of his appeal.

Orders

  • Application dismissed for lack of merit.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Discretionary Jurisdiction
The grant of bail to a convicted person pending the determination of an appeal is a discretionary jurisdiction which must be exercised judiciously, having regard to established guidelines rather than as a matter of right.
Criminal Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Relevant Considerations
In deciding an application for bail pending appeal the court considers the applicant's character, whether he is a first offender, whether the offence involved personal violence, whether the appeal is not frivolous and has a reasonable possibility of success, the possibility of substantial delay in determining the appeal, and compliance with prior bail conditions; not all conditions need be present, and a combination of two or more may suffice.
Criminal Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Sureties and Prior Release
An applicant serving a prison sentence must present substantial sureties to ensure attendance in court, and prior release on bail by the trial court before conviction is not, in itself, a sufficient ground for release on bail pending appeal.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Trial on Indictment Act s.132(4)
  • Rules of the Court of Appeal r.6(2)(a)
  • Rules of the Court of Appeal r.42
  • Rules of the Court of Appeal r.43
  • Rules of the Court of Appeal r.44

Cases cited (3)

  • Arvind Patel v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 1 of 2003)
  • Nsubuga Gerald and Another v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 37 of 2008)
  • Nalukenge Muldred v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 56 of 2008)

Full judgment

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

Nkula Moses v Uganda (Criminal Application No. 57 of 2008) [2008] UGCA 13 (24 November 2008)
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.