Uganda: Court Upholds 26 Year Jail Term for Man Convicted of Defilement

By Kenneth Kazibwe

The Court of Appeal in Kampala has dismissed an appeal by a man who sought to overturn a 26-year prison sentence imposed on him for aggravated defilement.

Jimmy Katabira was convicted on his own plea of guilty to the offence of aggravated defilement under Section 129 (3) and (4) (a) (d) of the Penal Code Act (now Section 116 (3) and (4) (a)) and was consequently sentenced to 26 years by the High Court in 2021.

He however appealed against the sentence that he said was harsh and excessive.

However, after reviewing previous decisions in comparable cases, three justices of the Court of Appeal including Hellen Obura, Margaret Tibulya and Esta Nambayo reasoned that the sentence was not harsh and neither was it excessive, noting that in the cases referenced, sentences ranging between 20 and 32 years had been upheld for aggravated defilement, including cases where the accused persons had pleaded guilty, like it was for Katabira.

"As regards the sentencing range in cases of a similar nature, we have taken into consideration the cases cited to us by both counsel in their submissions and others not cited to us. Taking into account the sentencing range in the above cases of a similar nature together with those cited to us by both counsel and the aggravating and mitigating factors in this case, we find that the sentence of 26 years' imprisonment which was imposed on the appellant was neither harsh nor excessive," the trio said.

They said they therefore, find no reason to interfere with the discretion of the judge of the lower court.

The court consequently dismissed the appeal.

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