Wakilii

Uganda v Basikana and 5 Others (HTC-00-CR-SC 28 of 2019)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCRD 166 · 2023 A1 Convicted; A2-A6 Acquitted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial on two counts of murder
Decision
A1 convicted of two counts of murder; A2 to A6 acquitted and discharged

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court found A1 guilty of two counts of murder after determining that his confession was voluntary and corroborated by his flight from the village immediately after the incident. The court held that malice aforethought could be inferred from the nature of the injuries inflicted, targeting the victims' heads with blunt weapons. A2 to A5 were acquitted for lack of evidence of participation. A6 was acquitted because the only evidence against him was the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice, which the court found insufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Outcome

A1 convicted of two counts of murder; A2 to A6 acquitted and discharged

Facts

On 26 February 2019, two men, Serugo Lawrence and Musisi Charles, were riding a Bajaj motorcycle from Sigi to Kisasi. At about 2:00 am, near Bulamazi in Bujjuko, Wakiso district, they were mistaken for thieves. A mob, allegedly led by the LC I vice chairman and the LC I defence secretary, descended on them with sticks, timber and stones, and beat them to death. The bodies were discovered on the road the following morning by the area LC I chairman who alerted the police. Post-mortem examinations revealed both victims suffered fractured skulls and head injuries from blunt force trauma causing death. All six accused persons fled the area after the incident and were arrested over the following months. A1 confessed to participating in the beating in his charge and caution statement. A2 to A6 remained silent during the trial.

Issues

  1. Whether there was a death.
  2. Whether the death was caused unlawfully.
  3. Whether the killing was done with malice aforethought.
  4. Whether each accused person participated in the commission of the offence.

Orders

  • A1 Basikana James found guilty of two counts of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act and convicted.
  • A2 Ntege Francis (a.k.a Bulesa) acquitted.
  • A3 Kakooza Bernard acquitted.
  • A4 Sekitoleko Henry acquitted.
  • A5 Bukenya Peter acquitted.
  • A6 Kimeze Joseph acquitted.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Elements — Malice Aforethought — Inference from Injuries
Malice aforethought may be inferred from the type of weapon used, the nature of the injuries inflicted, the part of the body affected, and the conduct of the perpetrator before and after the attack. Where assailants target the head, a critical and vulnerable part of the human anatomy, causing multiple skull fractures and brain injuries leading to death, the court may infer malice aforethought.
Confessions — Admissibility — Translation Requirement
The requirement that a charge and caution statement be recorded first in the language spoken by the accused and then translated into English is a matter of prudence and not of law. Where the recording officer is proficient in both languages, failure to record the statement in vernacular first does not automatically render the statement inadmissible. The primary consideration is whether the statement was made voluntarily.
Confessions — Admissibility — Promise of Help by Police
A confession statement does not become inadmissible merely because it was made after a promise by police to help the accused if he stated the truth. Under Section 26 of the Evidence Act, such a statement does not become irrelevant by reason of a promise of secrecy or a deception practised to obtain it. The primary consideration is always whether the statement was made voluntarily.
Confessions — Repudiation — Corroboration
Where an accused person repudiates a confessional statement, a court will not ordinarily rely on it unless it has been corroborated. A statement amounts to a confession only if it is sufficient by itself to justify the conviction of the person making it. An admission by an accused person to a third party can furnish corroboration of a repudiated confession.
Circumstantial Evidence — Flight from Scene of Crime
Evidence of an accused person fleeing his home immediately after an incident is circumstantial evidence which can provide corroboration of a confessional statement. Such conduct may be relied upon to corroborate a confession in a material way.
Accomplice Evidence — Corroboration Requirement
The evidence of an accomplice is of the weakest kind and must be properly corroborated before a court can rely on it. Corroboration must extend to the material circumstances of the crime and the identity of the accused in relation to the crime. There must be independent evidence, direct or circumstantial, identifying an accused person as one of those responsible for the commission of the offence. Where the only evidence against an accused is uncorroborated accomplice testimony, it is insufficient to ground a conviction.
Suspicion — Insufficiency to Establish Guilt
Suspicion, however strong, cannot provide a basis for inferring guilt which must be proved by evidence. The fact that an accused person fled the area after an incident may raise serious cause for suspicion, but such conduct cannot on its own prove participation in a crime to the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (12)

  • Okethi Okale v R (1965) EA 555
  • Kamesere Moses v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 8 of 1997)
  • Gusambizi s/o Wesonga [1948] 15 EACA 63
  • Amis Katalikawe & 2 Others v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 17 of 1994)
  • Pyaralal Melaram Bassan and Wathobia s/o Kiambu v R [1961] 1 EA 521
  • Anyangu and others v Republic [1968] EACA 239
  • Minani Joseph v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 30 of 1995)
  • Uganda v George Wilson Simbwa (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 37 of 1995)
  • Sawe v R [2003] EA 208
  • Nasolo v Uganda [2003] 1 EA 181
  • Rwalinda John v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 2015)
  • R v Baskerville (1916) 2 KB 658

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Basikana and 5 Others (HTC-00-CR-SC 28 of 2019) [2023] UGHCCRD 166 (28 September 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.