Wakilii

Uganda v Odongo & Ors (Criminal Session Case No. 0066 of 2009)

High Court · [2011] UGHCCRD 3 · 2011 All Accused Convicted of Murder AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial for murder following not guilty plea
Decision
All three accused convicted of murder under sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court convicted all three accused of murder. The court found that the deceased's death by throat slitting was proved beyond reasonable doubt, that the killing was unlawful homicide committed with malice aforethought, and that the accomplice witness's evidence was credible and corroborated by circumstantial evidence. Applying Penal Code Act s.20, the court held that all accused shared a common intention to cause grievous harm or death and acted in concert to restrain the victim while the first accused slit his throat.

Outcome

All three accused convicted of murder under sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act

Facts

On 3 July 2008 at Wantembo Village, Butiaba Parish, Buliisa District, Cpl. Otim Kenneth was killed. The deceased had been drinking at the home of the first and second accused (a married couple). The first accused seized the victim, accusing him of having an affair with the second accused. The first accused ordered the others present — the second and third accused, an accomplice witness (who later pleaded guilty), and another person — to hold the victim down. They restrained the victim by his limbs while the first accused slit the victim's throat with a knife until he died. The body was then carried to an airstrip. The first accused took the deceased's mobile phone, removed the SIM card, and gave the phone to the accomplice. The first accused threatened the participants with similar fate if they divulged what had occurred. The body was found the next day with a deep throat wound that had severed the trachea, blood vessels, and oesophagus.

Issues

  1. Whether the death of Cpl. Otim Kenneth occurred.
  2. Whether the death was caused by an unlawful act of homicide.
  3. Whether the homicide was committed with malice aforethought.
  4. Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that each of the three accused was guilty of perpetrating the homicide with malice aforethought.

Orders

  • Issa Odongo convicted of murder.
  • Alum Agnes convicted of murder.
  • Okumu Charles convicted of murder.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Elements — Death of a Human Being — Standard of Proof
The ingredient of death of a person may be established either through production of a medical examination report or by evidence from anyone to whom the deceased was known and who actually saw the dead body.
Murder — Elements — Unlawful Homicide — Presumption and Rebuttal
Any incident of homicide is presumed to be a felony unless the person charged establishes on a balance of probabilities that the homicide was either justifiable or excusable. Justifiable homicide is an absolute defence; excusable homicide reduces the offence to a lesser charge such as manslaughter.
Murder — Malice Aforethought — Inference from Circumstances
Malice aforethought may be established by inference from the conduct of the accused or the circumstances under which death was perpetrated. Factors giving rise to such inference include use of a lethal weapon, targeting vulnerable parts of the victim's body, the nature of the injury disclosing an intention to cause grave damage, repeated blows, and conduct before, during, or after the incident incompatible with innocence.
Accomplice Evidence — Corroboration — Conviction on Uncorroborated Accomplice Evidence
While accomplice evidence must be treated with caution and ideally supported by independent corroborative evidence, a court may, upon exercising the requisite caution regarding the danger of acting on uncorroborated accomplice evidence, base a conviction solely on such evidence if the accomplice's testimony is credible, consistent, and voluntarily given without duress or promise of benefit.
Circumstantial Evidence — Corroboration of Accomplice Evidence
Circumstantial evidence which is not entirely inconsistent with innocence may be of great evidential value as corroboration of other evidence. It is only where circumstantial evidence stands alone that it must be inconsistent with any other hypothesis than guilt and establish that no co-existing circumstance could weaken or negate it.
Joint Offenders — Common Intention — Penal Code Act Section 20
Where two or more persons form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose in conjunction with one another and in the prosecution of that purpose an offence is committed of such a nature that its commission was a probable consequence of the prosecution of that purpose, each of them is deemed to have committed the offence. The existence of a common intention is the sole test of joint responsibility and must be proved with judicial certitude.
Joint Offenders — Common Intention — Active Participation and Failure to Dissociate
Where accused persons jointly restrain a victim while one of them inflicts fatal violence and none of the accused attempts to restrain the attacker or dissociate themselves from the act, their joint actions meet the requirements for proof of a common intention to cause grievous harm or death. Each accused who acts in concert in pursuit of such an enterprise is guilty of the offence.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (16)

  • Kimweri v Republic [1968] EA 452
  • R v Gusambizi s/o Wesonga (1948) 15 EACA 65
  • Uganda v Bosco Okello alias Anyanya (High Court Criminal Session Case No. 143 of 1991)
  • Uganda v Francis Gayira and Another (High Court Criminal Session Case No. 470 of 1995)
  • Festo Shirabu s/o Musungu v R (1922) EACA 454
  • R v Tubere s/o Ochen (1945) 12 EACA 63
  • Uganda v Fabian Senzah [1975] HCB 136
  • Lutwama and Others v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 38 of 1989)
  • Uganda v Turwomwe [1978] HCB 16
  • Bogere Moses and Another v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • Barland Singh v Reginam (1954) 21 EACA 209
  • Abdi Alli v R (1956) 23 EACA 573
  • Ezera Kyabanamaizi v R [1962] EA 309
  • Andrea Obonyo and Others v R [1962] EA 542
  • R v John s/o Njiwa Samwedi [1962] EA 552
  • Dafasi Magayi and Others v Uganda [1965] EA 667

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Odongo & Ors (Criminal Session Case No. 0066 of 2009) [2011] UGHCCRD 3 (14 January 2011)
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.