Wakilii

Uganda v Owor Phillip (Criminal Case No.67 Of 2004) (Criminal Case No.67 of 2004)

High Court · [2005] UGHC 76 · 2005 Murder Acquitted, Manslaughter Convicted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial before High Court for murder charge
Decision
Accused acquitted of murder, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to twelve years imprisonment less remand period

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Accused charged with murder after killing his granddaughter with a hoe. Court found all elements of murder proved but held that intoxication combined with provocation from theft of his chickens negated the specific intent required for murder. Accused convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to twelve years imprisonment less remand period.

Outcome

Accused acquitted of murder, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to twelve years imprisonment less remand period

Facts

On 7 May 2001 at about 7:30 p.m. in Namukuma village, Kayunga District, the accused Owora Philip, a deaf and mute person, assaulted his granddaughter Nyaburu Federesi with a hoe in his home. Federesi had returned to live with the accused and his wife after her marriage failed. A neighbour Margaret Akong heard a bang and found the accused holding a blood-stained hoe standing over the semi-conscious deceased. The accused threatened to hit Akong and tried to finish off the deceased. Akong called her husband Stephen Owino and others who overpowered and arrested the accused. Both accused and deceased were taken to Busana Police Post where Federesi died on arrival. Evidence suggested the accused killed Federesi for selling his chickens without permission. Witnesses testified that the accused appeared drunk, smelling of enguli, and was known as a habitual drunkard prone to violence when intoxicated. Post-mortem examination revealed two extensive scalp wounds extending into the skull causing brain damage. The accused, represented by counsel and with sign language interpreters present throughout, chose to say nothing in his defence, leaving his fate to God.

Issues

  1. Whether the prosecution proved the offence of murder beyond reasonable doubt.
  2. Whether the accused was acting under diminished responsibility.
  3. Whether the accused was provoked such that his offence should be reduced to manslaughter.
  4. Whether intoxication negated the intention required for murder.

Orders

  • Accused acquitted of murder.
  • Accused convicted of manslaughter contrary to sections 187 and 190 of the Penal Code Act.
  • Accused sentenced to twelve (12) years imprisonment less the period spent on remand.
  • Right of appeal to the Court of Appeal within fourteen (14) days explained to convict.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Intoxication — Effect on Intention to Kill
Intoxication is not a defence to a criminal charge per se but is relevant to show the presence or absence of the intention to kill required for murder. Where an accused person is intoxicated to the extent that he is temporarily deprived of his senses and cannot form the specific intention required for murder, his offence is reduced to manslaughter.
Murder — Provocation — Reduction to Manslaughter
Where an accused acts in the heat of passion arising from provocation, and the force used in retaliation, though out of proportion to the provocation, is attributable to loss of self-control by a reasonable member of the unsophisticated community to which the accused belongs, legal provocation sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter is made out.
Diminished Responsibility — Burden of Proof
The defence of diminished responsibility must be pleaded and proved by the defence on the balance of probabilities. The court cannot avail an accused of this defence where the defence has not raised it and there are no circumstances upon which the court can conclude that such a state of mind existed in the accused.
Assessors' Opinions — Judge Not Bound
Under section 82 of the Trial on Indictments Act, the judge is not bound by the opinions of assessors. If assessors give opinions not supported by the evidence on record or not based on the law governing the case, the judge is at liberty to disagree with their opinions and must give reasons for doing so.
Malice Aforethought — Inference from Circumstances
In establishing the existence of malice aforethought, the court may be guided by the type of weapon used (whether lethal or deadly), the nature and gravity of the injuries inflicted, the part of the body on which injuries are inflicted, and the conduct of the accused before and after the commission of the offence.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (24)

  • Woolmington v DPP [1935] AC 462
  • Oketh, Okale & Others v Uganda (1965) EA 555
  • Uganda v Harry Musumba (1992) 1 KALR 83
  • Kimweni v Republic (1968) EA 452
  • R v Sharmpal Singh (1962) EA 13
  • Uganda v Kulabako Night (Criminal Session Case No. 61 of 1991)
  • R v Tubere s/o Ochen (1945) 12 EACA 63
  • Uganda v John Ochieng (1992-3) HCB 80
  • D Kabagenyi v Uganda (1978) HCB 216
  • Mafabi s/o Mafabi v R (1956-57) 8 ULR 59
  • R v Byrne [1960] 2 QB 396
  • Rose v R [1961] AC 496
  • R v Terry [1961] 2 QB 314
  • R v Gomez 48 Cr App R 310
  • R v Kooken 74 Cr App R 30
  • R v Campbell 84 Cr App R 255
  • Uganda v Nabwegere son of Rovumba (1972) ULR 15
  • Chemingwa v R (1956) 23 EACA 45
  • Kinuthia s/o Kamau v R (1950) 17 EACA 137
  • Kajumba v Uganda (1987) HCB 1
  • Uganda v Robert Kanyankore (1984) HCB 23
  • Habib Kara Vesta & Others v R (1934) 1 EACA 191
  • R v Mwita s/o Samo (1948) 15 EACA 128
  • Adam Mulira v R (1953) 20 EACA 223

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Owor Phillip (Criminal Case No.67 Of 2004) (Criminal Case No.67 of 2004) [2005] UGHC 76 (6 January 2005)
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.