Wakilii

Uganda v Lokiru Peter and Gulit Lomer (Criminal Session Case 45 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 663 · 2025 Acquittal Entered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial for murder in the High Court
Decision
Accused Gulit Lomer acquitted and discharged

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

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

The High Court acquitted the accused Gulit Lomer of murder. The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused participated in causing the death of Kokoi Vicky. Although the accused knew the deceased, knew where the body was located, and led police to the scene, this evidence was insufficient to establish his active participation in the commission of the offence. The co-accused Lokiru Peter had earlier pleaded guilty and was sentenced.

Outcome

Accused Gulit Lomer acquitted and discharged

Facts

On 18 August 2023, Kokoi Vicky was killed at Kawaa Village in Nakapiripirit district. The deceased and her husband were tending their garden. The husband left the deceased in the garden and went home. The following morning, the accused persons Lokiru Peter and Gulit Lomer went to the husband's home and informed him that the deceased had been killed. The accused persons led police to the scene where the body was found outside a hut in the garden, covered with dry grass, with cuts on the head inflicted by a stick and a hoe handle. Police investigations led to the charging of both accused persons with murder. Lokiru Peter (A1) initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to 18 years, 3 months and 8 days imprisonment. Gulit Lomer (A2) maintained his not guilty plea and proceeded to trial.

Issues

  1. Whether the death of Kokoi Vicky occurred.
  2. Whether the death was caused by an unlawful act.
  3. Whether the unlawful act was actuated by malice aforethought.
  4. Whether the accused Gulit Lomer participated in causing the death of the deceased.

Orders

  • Accused Gulit Lomer found not guilty of murder.
  • Accused Gulit Lomer acquitted of the offence of Murder contrary to Sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act Cap 120 (now Sections 171 and 172 of the Penal Code Act Cap 128).

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Burden of Proof — Standard of Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt
The prosecution bears the burden of proving a murder charge beyond reasonable doubt and this burden does not shift to the accused, who can only be convicted on the strength of the prosecution case and not the weakness of the defence.
Murder — Essential Ingredients — Elements to be Proved
To secure a conviction for murder, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt: (i) that death of a human being occurred; (ii) that the death was caused by an unlawful act; (iii) that the unlawful act was actuated by malice aforethought; and (iv) that it was the accused who caused the unlawful death.
Proof of Death — Acceptable Evidence
Death may be proved by adducing a postmortem report or the evidence of a witness who knew the deceased and attended the burial or saw the dead body.
Murder — Malice Aforethought — Inference from Weapon and Injury
Malice aforethought, being a mental element, is difficult to prove by direct evidence and may be inferred from the nature of the weapon used and the part of the body which was struck.
Murder — Participation — Insufficiency of Mere Presence or Knowledge
To convict an accused of murder, there must be credible direct or circumstantial evidence placing the accused at the scene of crime as an active participant in the commission of the offence; mere knowledge of the deceased's location and leading police to the scene is insufficient to establish participation.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (4)

  • Ssekitoleko v Uganda (1967) EA 531
  • Miller v Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All ER 372
  • Uganda v Anyao Milton and Another (High Court Criminal Session No. 5 of 2017)
  • Uganda Vs Adriko Alfred Supra

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Uganda v Lokiru Peter and Gulit Lomer (Criminal Session Case 45 of 2025) [2025] UGHC 663 (27 June 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.