Wakilii

Okello v Uganda (Criminal Appeal 403 of 2017)

Court of Appeal · [2023] UGCA 244 · 2023 Sentence Reduced AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal appeal against sentence only, from a High Court conviction for murder
Decision
Appeal against sentence partly succeeded; life imprisonment set aside and substituted with 20 years (16 years, 9 months and 6 days to serve after remand deduction) from the date of conviction.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, appealing against sentence only. The Court of Appeal held that life imprisonment is not amenable to Article 23(8) of the Constitution, so the trial judge's failure to deduct time spent on remand did not render the sentence illegal, and the first ground failed. However, comparing the sentence against precedent for murder, the court found life imprisonment harsh and excessive for a youthful first offender who surrendered himself. It set aside the life sentence, substituted 20 years' imprisonment, and deducted the remand period, leaving the appellant 16 years, 9 months and 6 days to serve from the date of conviction.

Outcome

Appeal against sentence partly succeeded; life imprisonment set aside and substituted with 20 years (16 years, 9 months and 6 days to serve after remand deduction) from the date of conviction.

Facts

On 25 March 2012 at Baropok 'B' village, Apac District, the appellant assaulted the deceased, Simon Ekwaro, by hitting him on the head with a club, then fled. An alarm attracted family members; the deceased, still breathing, named the appellant as his assailant before subsequently dying. The matter was reported to police, and the appellant handed himself over, was arrested and charged. He was indicted for murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act, convicted as charged, and sentenced by the High Court at Lira to life imprisonment on 29 May 2015. He had spent 3 years 2 months and 24 days on remand. He appealed against sentence only, contending it was illegal and manifestly harsh and excessive.

Issues

  1. Whether the sentence of life imprisonment was illegal for failing to take into account, and deduct, the time the appellant spent on remand as required by Article 23(8) of the Constitution.
  2. Whether the sentence of life imprisonment was manifestly harsh and excessive in the circumstances.

Orders

  • Ground 1 of the appeal (illegality for failure to deduct remand) fails.
  • The sentence of life imprisonment is set aside.
  • A sentence of 20 years' imprisonment is substituted, from which 3 years 2 months and 24 days spent on remand is deducted.
  • The appellant is to serve 16 years, 9 months and 6 days in prison from the date of conviction, 29 May 2015.

Rules and key headnotes

Sentencing — Life imprisonment — Deduction of time on remand under Article 23(8)
Life imprisonment is not amenable to Article 23(8) of the Constitution, which applies only to a sentence for a quantified term of imprisonment from which remand time can be deducted; failure to take into account time spent on remand therefore does not render a life sentence illegal.
Sentencing — Appellate interference with sentencing discretion
An appellate court will not interfere with a trial court's exercise of sentencing discretion unless there has been a failure to take into account a material consideration, an error in principle, or the sentence is manifestly excessive in that it exceeds the permissible range or sentence variation.
Sentencing — Parity and consistency — Murder
Sentences for murder must reflect parity, uniformity and consistency with comparable precedents; a sentence of life imprisonment imposed on a youthful first offender who surrendered himself is harsh and excessive where comparable cases attract terms in the region of 20 years.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (19)

  • Abaasa Johnson and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 33 of 2010)
  • Kaddu Kavule Lawrence v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 72 of 2018)
  • Magezi Gad v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 17 of 2014)
  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
  • Fr. Narcensio Begumisa & Ors v Eric Tibebaaga (Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2002)
  • National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) v Solid State Limited (Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2015)
  • Pandya v R [1957] EA 336
  • Kamya Johnson Wavamuno v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 16 of 2000)
  • Kiwalabye Bernard v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 148 of 2001)
  • Sekandi Hassan v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2019)
  • Livingstone Kakooza v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 17 of 1993)
  • Jackson Zita v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 19 of 1995)
  • Aharikundira Yusitina v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 27 of 2015)
  • Mbunya Godfrey v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 4 of 2011)
  • Tusigwire Samuel v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 53 of 2016)
  • Tumwesigye Anthony v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 46 of 2012)
  • Onyabo Bosco v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 737 of 2014)
  • Attorney General v Susan Kigula & 417 Ors (supra)
  • Ntambi Robert v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 384 of 2018)

Full judgment

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

Okello v Uganda (Criminal Appeal 403 of 2017) [2023] UGCA 244 (6 June 2023)
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.