Wakilii

Uganda v Nuwayinamani Yubu & 2 Ors (Criminal Session CAse No. 254 of 1997)

High Court · [2001] UGHC 96 · 2001 Conviction (A3); Acquittal (A1, A2) AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial in the High Court for murder
Decision
Third accused convicted and sentenced to death; first and second accused acquitted and discharged

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court convicted the third accused of murder based on his unequivocal confession corroborated by his admission to police that he showed them the murder weapon. The court acquitted the first and second accused, finding the prosecution failed to establish a substantial case against the first accused independent of a co-accused confession, and failed to prove the second accused shared the common intention to kill or acted voluntarily rather than under compulsion.

Outcome

Third accused convicted and sentenced to death; first and second accused acquitted and discharged

Facts

On 4 August 1996, Rwakanigane Festo was shot dead near his kraal in Mugono village. The deceased's relations with his sons had soured after he married a second wife three months earlier. The prosecution alleged that the first accused, the deceased's son, contracted the third accused, an armed Local Defence Unit member, to kill his father for payment of 600,000 shillings. On the night of the killing, the second accused (another son) called the deceased from his house on the pretext that cattle had escaped. As the deceased approached the kraal, he was shot once with a rifle, dying instantly. The third accused was arrested and led police to the murder weapon, an AK47 rifle with 9 rounds of ammunition. Both the second and third accused made detailed charge and caution statements implicating themselves and co-accused, which they later repudiated at trial.

Issues

  1. Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the participation of each accused person in the murder of Rwakanigane Festo.
  2. Whether the charge and caution statements of the second and third accused constituted confessions admissible under the Evidence Act.
  3. Whether the confession of the third accused could be considered against co-accused under section 28 of the Evidence Act.
  4. Whether the second accused acted under compulsion or shared the common intention to commit the offence.
  5. Whether there was a substantial case against the first accused independent of co-accused statements to support a conviction.

Orders

  • Third accused (Kavigi Edson) convicted of murder contrary to sections 183 and 184 of the Penal Code Act.
  • Third accused sentenced to death.
  • First accused (Nuwayinamani Yubu) acquitted.
  • Second accused (Kamwesigye) acquitted.

Rules and key headnotes

Burden of Proof — Prosecution Must Prove Guilt Beyond Reasonable Doubt Throughout Trial
In a criminal trial in Uganda, the burden of proving the guilt of an accused person rests upon the prosecution throughout the trial and never shifts to the defence, and an accused person cannot be convicted owing to the weakness or absence of his defence but only on the strength of the prosecution's case.
Murder — Essential Ingredients — Malice Aforethought Inferred from Use of Lethal Weapon
Where a person is shot with a gun in a vulnerable part of the body such as the chest, malice aforethought may be inferred under section 186(b) of the Penal Code on the basis that the person who shot must have intended or known that the act of shooting with a gun would result in death, a gun being a very lethal weapon.
Common Intention — Section 22 Penal Code — Proof and Application
Under section 22 of the Penal Code, where two or more persons form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose in conjunction with one another and in the prosecution of such purpose an offence is committed of such a nature that its commission was a probable consequence, each is deemed to have committed the offence, and where common design is proved all who participated are guilty regardless of the acquittal of others if the evidence establishes the others shared the common design.
Confessions — Definition and Sufficiency for Conviction
A statement amounts to a confession within sections 24 and 25 of the Evidence Act if it is sufficient in itself to justify the conviction of the person making it, and does not contain exculpatory material which, if true, would negative the offence alleged or provide a defence such as compulsion.
Co-Accused Statements — Confession Considered Against Co-Accused Under Section 28 Evidence Act
A confession by a co-accused may be considered against another co-accused under section 28 of the Evidence Act, but can only be taken into consideration to supplement an otherwise substantial case and can never be the basis for a conviction, and can only be considered where there has been a full admission of guilt in the statement implicating the confessing accused substantially to the same extent as co-accused.
Retracted Statements — Practice to Seek Corroboration
Although there is no rule of law requiring corroboration of retracted statements made by accused persons, it is a salutary rule of practice to seek such corroboration.
False Alibi — Cannot Bolster Weak Prosecution Case
A false alibi advanced by an accused constitutes lies but such lies cannot be used to bolster a weak prosecution case where the prosecution has failed to prove participation beyond reasonable doubt.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (13)

  • Woolington v DPP [1935] AC 462
  • Ssekitoleko v Uganda (1967) E.A. 531
  • Gusambizi Wesonga v R (1948) 15 E.A.C.A. 63
  • Tubere s/o Ochen v R (1945) 12 E.A.C.A. 63
  • Solomon Mungai and Others v Republic (1965) E.A.
  • Anyungu v Republic (1968) E.A. 239
  • Uganda v Rev. Fr. Kabishenga and Another (1978) HCB 69
  • Issa s/o Ramadhan v R (1962) E.A. 686
  • Ezera Kyabanamaizi v R (1962) E.A. 309
  • Muthige v R (1954) 21 E.A.C.A. 267
  • Girisomu Bakaye and Another v Uganda (1965) E.A. 621
  • Mabingo v Uganda (1965) E.A. 71
  • Uganda v Mugayi Godfrey and Another (1994) I KALR 76

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Nuwayinamani Yubu & 2 Ors (Criminal Session CAse No. 254 of 1997) [2001] UGHC 96 (8 June 2001)
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.