Wakilii

Uganda v Kisembo (HCT-00-CR-SC-0955-2016)

High Court · [2018] UGHCCRD 101 · 2018 Acquittal Entered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal trial on indictment with ruling on no case to answer under Trial on Indictments Act s.73(1)
Decision
Accused acquitted and discharged with no case to answer

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

In a criminal trial for aggravated defilement, the court held that prosecution evidence was manifestly unreliable where the child victim could not describe any sexual act, stated she felt nothing and went back to play, and medical evidence showed no penetration with hymen intact. The accused was acquitted under s.73(1) Trial on Indictments Act as there was no case to answer.

Outcome

Accused acquitted and discharged with no case to answer

Facts

The accused was indicted with aggravated defilement of a five-year-old girl alleged to have occurred on 18 October 2015 at Naluvule village in Wakiso District. The prosecution called five witnesses. The grandmother (PW1) testified that when she returned home at 8:00 p.m. the child was not walking well; the child initially said she had fallen, then said the accused had defiled her. The child victim (PW3) testified that the accused slept on her, after which she went back to play and felt nothing. The investigating officer (PW2) found nothing relevant to the case. A clinical officer (PW5) examined the child and found no penetration, an intact hymen, and only inflammation above the vagina that could result from superficial trauma or abrasion. The child, who testified not on oath due to tender age, was unable to describe any sexual act.

Issues

  1. Whether the prosecution evidence established that a sexual act was performed on the victim as required under Penal Code Act s.129(7).
  2. Whether the accused person had a case to answer on the charge of aggravated defilement.

Orders

  • Accused acquitted and set free.
  • No case to answer.

Rules and key headnotes

Aggravated Defilement — Essential Elements — Proof of Sexual Act
For a charge of aggravated defilement under Penal Code Act s.129(3), (4)(a) to succeed, the prosecution must establish three essential elements: the age of the victim as below 14 years, that a sexual act was done to the child, and that the accused committed the offence. A sexual act is defined under s.129(7) as penetration of the vagina, mouth or anus, however slight, by a sexual organ.
Child Testimony — Reliability — Description of Sexual Act Required
In sexual offence cases involving child victims, it is not sufficient for the child to merely state that the accused 'slept on me' without being able to describe any sexual act. Where the child states she felt nothing, left the accused and went back to play, and told nobody, such testimony renders the story not believable.
No Case to Answer — Standard Under Trial on Indictments Act s.73(1)
Under Trial on Indictments Act s.73(1), an accused person has no case to answer where the prosecution evidence is manifestly unreliable and no reasonable court could convict on it even if the accused offered no defence. The accused must be acquitted at that stage.

Legislation cited (4)

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Kisembo (HCT-00-CR-SC-0955-2016) [2018] UGHCCRD 101 (30 April 2018)
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.