Wakilii

Odeke & 2 Others v Uganda (Criminal Appeals 284, 287, & 429 of 2014)

Court of Appeal · [2019] UGCA 2097 · 2019 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal from High Court conviction and sentence for murder
Decision
Appeal dismissed; conviction and 25-year sentence for each appellant upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction and sentence for murder. It held that the circumstantial evidence on record, together with the appellants' voluntarily made charge and caution statements implicating each other, pointed irresistibly to their guilt and proved malice aforethought beyond reasonable doubt. Retracted and repudiated confessions, having been found voluntary after a trial within a trial, were properly admitted. On common intention, the evidence showed all three appellants shared a plan to murder the deceased. The Court found the 25-year sentence was within the established range for murder and not harsh or excessive, declining to interfere with the trial Judge's exercise of discretion.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; conviction and 25-year sentence for each appellant upheld

Facts

In March 2007 the 1st appellant and his uncle approached the 3rd appellant to murder Atebat Aiseri at Bukonde Village, Bugiri District. In May 2007 the 1st appellant briefed the 2nd and 3rd appellants on the plan, promising each two cows. On 11 June 2007 the appellants went to the victim's home; the 1st appellant lured her toward a garden, grabbed her by the neck and killed her, then called the others to assist. The 3rd appellant carried the body and dumped it behind a nearby latrine. On 18 June 2007 the deceased's grandchild discovered the body and reported it. Police visited the scene, drew a sketch plan and conducted a post-mortem. There was an underlying land dispute between the 1st appellant and the deceased. The appellants made charge and caution statements implicating each other, which were admitted after a trial within a trial. They were convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment each.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial Judge erred in convicting the appellants on weak circumstantial evidence.
  2. Whether the sentence of 25 years imprisonment was harsh and excessive in the circumstances.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Conviction of each appellant upheld.
  • Sentence of 25 years imprisonment for each appellant upheld.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Evidence — Circumstantial Evidence — Inference of Guilt Must Be Irresistible
To justify a conviction on circumstantial evidence, the inculpatory facts must be incompatible with the innocence of the accused and incapable of explanation upon any reasonable hypothesis other than guilt; the evidence must point irresistibly to the guilt of the accused.
Criminal Evidence — Retracted and Repudiated Confessions — Voluntariness and Corroboration
A retracted or repudiated confession must be accepted with caution, but a court may convict on it where, after a trial within a trial, it is satisfied the confession was made voluntarily and is true; corroboration is desirable but not necessary in law.
Criminal Evidence — Confession by Co-Accused — Use Against Co-Accused
Under section 27 of the Evidence Act, a confession by one of several persons tried jointly which implicates a co-accused may be taken into consideration against that co-accused, but such a statement may only be used to supplement an otherwise substantial case against him.
Murder — Common Intention — Shared Unlawful Purpose
For the doctrine of common intention under section 20 of the Penal Code Act to apply, the accused must be shown to have shared with the actual perpetrator a common intention to pursue a specific unlawful purpose leading to the commission of the offence; such intention need not arise from a pre-arranged plan.
Sentencing — Murder — Appellate Interference with Trial Judge's Discretion
An appellate court will not interfere with a sentence merely because it might itself have passed a different one; a 25-year sentence for murder, falling within the established range of 25 to 30 years, is not harsh or excessive where the trial judge exercised discretion judiciously.

Legislation cited (9)

  • Penal Code Act Cap.120 s.188
  • Penal Code Act Cap.120 s.189
  • Penal Code Act Cap.120 s.20
  • Evidence Act Cap.6 s.24
  • Evidence Act Cap.6 s.25
  • Evidence Act Cap.6 s.27
  • Evidence Act Cap.6 s.9
  • Judicature Act s.11
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions, Statutory Instrument 13-10 r.30(1)

Cases cited (15)

  • Rex versus Kipleng and Kimuli Mutata, EACA No. 40 and 41 of 1949
  • Ogwal Alberto v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 46 of 2010)
  • Pandya V R (1957) EA 336
  • Oryem Richard v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 22 of 2014)
  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
  • Anyangu and Others versus Republic, EACA (1968) 239
  • Ssegonja Paul v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 42 of 2000)
  • Tuwamoi versus Uganda, (1967) 1 EA 84
  • Ezera Kyabanamaizi versus R (1962) E.A 309
  • John Sserumaga & 3 Others v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 31 of 1996)
  • Kisegerwa and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 6 of 1978)
  • Janet Mureeba and 2 Others v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 13 of 2003)
  • Buhinda Joseph v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 129 of 2012)
  • Ssemanda Christopher and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 77 of 2010)
  • Muhereza Bosco and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 66 of 2011)

Full judgment

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

Odeke & 2 Others v Uganda (Criminal Appeals 284, 287, & 429 of 2014) [2019] UGCA 2097 (8 November 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.