Wakilii

Uganda v Kayondo Hamidu (Criminal Session Case 62 of 2020)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 1003 · 2025 Acquittal Entered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial for murder arising from Kyotera Chief Magistrate's Court committal
Decision
Accused acquitted and released from custody

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court acquitted the accused of murder. While the prosecution proved unlawful death through medical evidence showing head injury secondary to homicide, the court found that all evidence against the accused was merely circumstantial and did not lead to any inference that he committed the crime. The accused was released from custody.

Outcome

Accused acquitted and released from custody

Facts

On 6 November 2017 at Namilyango village in Kyotera district, Nambalirwa Teddy died. Medical evidence showed she died of head injury with fresh blood from the mouth, ears, nose and depression on the scalp, secondary to homicide. The prosecution relied on four witnesses. PW1, the accused's step-brother, relied on statements made by the deceased before death. PW2, a neighbour, testified that she had met the deceased and later saw the accused in the same area on his phone. When she returned to see the deceased, she could not find her but found the accused who told her to go away and followed her. A day later, during a search for the deceased, PW2 informed police where she had last seen her. Police found the deceased's head scarf and later her body at that location. PW3's testimony was hearsay. The accused chose to remain silent.

Issues

  1. Whether the death of Nambalirwa Teddy occurred unlawfully.
  2. Whether the death was caused with malice aforethought.
  3. Whether the accused Kayondo Hamidu participated in the commission of the offence of murder.

Orders

  • Accused Kayondo Hamidu acquitted of the offence of murder.
  • Accused released from custody unless lawfully held in connection with some other offence.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Ingredients — Burden of Proof
In a murder prosecution, the state must prove beyond reasonable doubt that death occurred unlawfully, that it was caused intentionally with malice aforethought or the perpetrator did not care if death resulted from his or her actions, and that the accused participated in the commission of the offence.
Circumstantial Evidence — Sufficiency for Conviction
Circumstantial evidence must lead to an inference that the accused committed the crime. Where all evidence against an accused is merely circumstantial and does not lead to any such inference, the accused must be acquitted.

Legislation cited (2)

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Kayondo Hamidu (Criminal Session Case 62 of 2020) [2025] UGHC 1003 (12 September 2025)
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.