Wakilii

Uganda v Twesigye aka Tadius (HCT-00-CR-SC 47 of 2020)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCRD 20 · 2023 Conviction Entered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial on four counts of aggravated defilement
Decision
Accused convicted on all four counts of aggravated defilement

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that all four victims were below 14 years of age in 2019 when the offences occurred. The court found that the accused performed sexual acts on each victim by placing his penis between their thighs or penetrating their anal openings. The evidence of the child witnesses was credible, internally consistent, and corroborated by the testimony of other victims and medical evidence in one case. The defence of fabrication due to grudges was rejected as belated and not put to prosecution witnesses. The accused was convicted on all four counts of aggravated defilement.

Outcome

Accused convicted on all four counts of aggravated defilement

Facts

Between 2016 and July 2019, the accused lived in Kamwokya Church zone, Kampala, where he sold water, soda, and passion fruit juice. Four boys aged between 7 and 13 years lived in the same neighbourhood. The first victim, M.K., aged 13, went to live with the accused at his request. The accused forced M.K. into anal sexual intercourse on multiple occasions, threatening to kill him if he resisted. The second victim, A.O., aged 9, was called into the accused's room with friends, shown pornography, and subjected to sexual acts on three occasions. The third victim, M.R., aged 9, was also called into the room with friends and subjected to sexual acts on multiple occasions. The fourth victim, L.S., aged 7-8, was shown pornography and subjected to sexual acts on three occasions. L.S. reported the matter to his mother, who informed the area chairman. The accused was arrested while attempting to flee. Medical examination of M.K. revealed mild loosening of his anal sphincter muscle, consistent with anal sexual intercourse. Other victims showed no physical injury.

Issues

  1. Whether the victims were below 14 years of age at the time the offences were committed.
  2. Whether sexual acts were performed on the victims.
  3. Whether the accused participated in the commission of the offences.

Orders

  • TWESIGYE SIMON aka TADIUS found guilty on all four counts of Aggravated Defilement contrary to Sections 129(3) and (4)(a) of the Penal Code Act.
  • Accused convicted on all four counts.

Rules and key headnotes

Aggravated Defilement — Elements of the Offence — Age of Victim
In a prosecution for aggravated defilement, the age of the victim must be proved by cogent direct or circumstantial evidence. The onus remains on the prosecution to establish that the victim was below the age of 14 years at the time the offence was committed. Age may be proved by testimony of relatives, medical examination, and the court's own observation of the victim.
Aggravated Defilement — Definition of Sexual Act — Section 129 Penal Code Act
Under Section 129 of the Penal Code Act, a sexual act is defined as penetration of the vagina, mouth or anus, however slight, by a sexual organ, or the unlawful use of any object or organ by a person on another person's sexual organ. Only the slightest contact of whatever kind by a perpetrator with the sexual organ of the victim is sufficient to establish a sexual act.
Aggravated Defilement — Sexual Act — Broader Interpretation of Section 129
The offence of performing a sexual act under Section 129 of the Penal Code Act is complete when a perpetrator uses any of the victim's body parts, or manoeuvres the victim to use any object, on the perpetrator's sexual organ. A thigh, being an organ with a particular purpose forming part of the human anatomy, falls within the broader interpretation of the section. When an accused places his penis between the thighs of a victim for sexual gratification, a sexual act has been performed.
Corroboration — Evidence of Children of Tender Years — Section 156 Evidence Act
Under Section 156 of the Evidence Act, a former statement made by a witness relating to the same fact, at or about the time the fact took place or before an authority legally competent to investigate the fact, may be proved in order to corroborate the testimony of that witness. A report made by a child victim to a parent or guardian immediately after a sexual offence constitutes corroboration under this section.
Credibility of Witnesses — Allegations of Grudge or Fabrication
Where an accused alleges that prosecution witnesses fabricated evidence due to a grudge, such allegations must be put to the relevant witnesses in cross-examination. If the allegation is raised for the first time during the accused's defence evidence and was never put to the prosecution witnesses, it may be dismissed as an afterthought and belated.
Medical Evidence — Absence of Physical Injury in Sexual Offence Cases
The absence of medical evidence showing penetration or injury to sexual organs does not necessarily negate the commission of a sexual act. Where the nature of the sexual act did not involve penetration but only contact, such as placing a penis between the victim's thighs, unremarkable medical examination results are consistent with the victim's testimony and do not undermine credibility.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (2)

  • Okethi Okale v R [1965] E.A 555
  • Kamesere Moses v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 8 of 1997)

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Twesigye aka Tadius (HCT-00-CR-SC 47 of 2020) [2023] UGHCCRD 20 (13 April 2023)
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.