Court Quashes 20 Year Jail Term for Isingiro Defiler

The Court of Appeal in Kampala has quashed a 20-year jail term that was handed to Francisco Muhairwe a resident of Kahungye Cell in Isingiro District for aggravated defilement on grounds that it was harsh and excessive. 

Consequently, the Justices of the Court of Appeal comprising of Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Catherine Bamugemereire and Christopher Madrama have ordered for Muhairwe’s immediate release reasoning that he had at the time of their judgement spent more than 13 years in jail which they say was ample punishment given the circumstances of the case.

The facts of  Muhairwe's case are that on December 10th 2007, he performed a sexual act  with a 12 year old girl , and was two days later arrested and later  arraigned before Mbarara Magistrates Court on January 4th 2008.

He was committed for to the High Court for trial and was subsequently tried and convicted of aggravated defilement and on June 26th, 2011, Muhairwe  was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

But not happy with the decision, Muhairwe through his lawyer Sam Dhabangi  appealed only against his  sentence with one ground that the learned trial Judge erred in law and fact in imposing a sentence of 20 years imprisonment which he said was manifestly excessive and harsh in all circumstances.

The Chief State Attorney David Bisamunyu represented the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and they all filed written submissions while during the hearing Muhairwe appeared online from Mbarara Government Prison.

But in their Judgment dated December 16th 2021, the Justices of the Court of Appeal led by Fredrick Egonda-Ntende , have set Muhairwe free saying that given the circumstances of the case, the trial Judge made errors while sentencing him and was subsequently given an excessive sentence.

The Court of Appeal notes that the trial Judge did not take into account that Muhairwe was a first time offender with no criminal record but this was ignored by the lower Court in mitigating factors.

Secondly, the Justices say that the  trial Judge treated  Muhairwe  while sentencing him as a parent or guardian of the victim of defilement which is an aggravating element for offenses of this nature given the resultant breach of Trust but they were never related.

"The Appellant was not related to the victim and this element should not have been taken into account in determining sentence for the crime the Appellant was convicted of," reads the appeal.

It adds that: "The learned trial Judge declined to take into account a matter that he should have taken into account and then took into  account a matter that was not relevant in the sentencing of this Appellant."

According to the Justices, these two errors must have contributed to what they have found as manifestly harsh and excessive sentence.

" Prior to that he had spent 3 and a half years in pre-trial custody,". further reads the judgement. "He has spent on account of this crime a period of about 13 and a half years in custody. This is more than ample punishment for the Appellant."

As such, the Justices in their three-page judgement have allowed Muhairwe's  appeal and ordered for his immediate release unless he is held on other lawful charges.