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Ssegujja Danny & Another v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application No. 05 of 2019)

Supreme Court · [2019] UGSC 57 · 2019 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for bail pending appeal to the Supreme Court following partial dismissal of an appeal by the Court of Appeal
Decision
Bail pending appeal granted to both applicants on stringent terms pending the hearing of Criminal Appeal No. 36 of 2019.

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 2 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 2 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

On an application for bail pending appeal to the Supreme Court by two applicants convicted of theft and electronic fraud, the court applied the principles in Arvind Patel v Uganda, noting that not all the conditions need be present. The court found the appeal was not frivolous, the applicants had known places of abode and sureties, and had previously remained on bail for some four years in the Court of Appeal without absconding. Although the offences did not involve personal violence, the court observed their serious economic consequences. The court reluctantly granted bail on stringent terms, including cash bail, substantial sureties, deposit of passports and property, and monthly reporting to the Registrar.

Outcome

Bail pending appeal granted to both applicants on stringent terms pending the hearing of Criminal Appeal No. 36 of 2019.

Facts

The two applicants were charged before the High Court (Anti-Corruption Division) with embezzlement, theft, conspiracy to commit a felony, unauthorised access and electronic fraud. The first applicant was convicted of theft, electronic fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to terms of 5–9 years; the second applicant was convicted of similar offences plus unauthorised access and similarly sentenced. On appeal, the Court of Appeal quashed the conspiracy convictions (and the second applicant's unauthorised access conviction) but upheld the theft and electronic fraud convictions, imposing sentences of 5–7 years to run concurrently. The applicants appealed both conviction and the legality of the sentences to the Supreme Court. Having earlier been on bail pending appeal for almost four years in the Court of Appeal, their bail lapsed on partial dismissal and they were recommitted to prison. They then applied to the Supreme Court for bail pending appeal, asserting an arguable appeal on points of law, fixed places of abode, good character, first-offender status and prior compliance with bail terms.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants satisfied the conditions for the grant of bail pending the hearing and determination of their criminal appeal.

Orders

  • Bail granted to each applicant on terms.
  • Each applicant to deposit cash bail of UGX 5,000,000.
  • Each applicant to have 4 sureties as presented to court, each bound in the non-cash sum of UGX 50,000,000.
  • Each applicant to deposit his passport with the Registrar until the appeal is heard and disposed of.
  • Where passports are held by lower courts, the Registrar to arrange their transfer to his custody.
  • The purchase agreements of the first applicant's residential land to be deposited in court.
  • The title deed of the second applicant's wife, over which powers of attorney were obtained, to be deposited in court until the appeal is disposed of.
  • The applicants to report to the Registrar at the end of each month until the appeal is heard and disposed of.

Rules and key headnotes

Criminal Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Applicable Conditions
On an application for bail pending appeal, the conditions set out in Arvind Patel v Uganda guide the court's discretion, and an applicant need not establish that all of those conditions are present.
Criminal Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Nature and Gravity of Offence
While the absence of personal violence in an offence favours the grant of bail pending appeal, offences carrying serious economic consequences may weigh against release notwithstanding the absence of violence.
Criminal Procedure — Bail Pending Appeal — Prior Compliance and Risk of Absconding
An applicant's prior compliance with bail terms over a substantial period without absconding, together with known places of abode and substantial sureties, supports the grant of bail pending appeal.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (1)

  • Arvind Patel v Uganda (Miscellaneous Criminal Application No. 01 of 2003)

Cases citing this judgment (2)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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

Ssegujja Danny & Another v Uganda (Miscellaneous Application No. 05 of 2019) [2019] UGSC 57 (31 October 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.