The Court of Appeal has set free a man who had been sentenced to 31 years and two months in prison for aggravated robbery, after finding that he was a juvenile at the time of the offence and that his trial was marred by serious violations of the Children Act.
In their judgment, a panel of three justices of the Court of Appeal including Hellen Obura, Margaret Tibulya and Esta Nambayo faulted the High Court over the manner in which it handled Ahmed Ssekitoleko's case yet he was below 18 years when the offence was committed in March 2014 and should never have been treated as an adult offender.
Court records show that on the night of March 20, 2014, at Mbuya in Kampala, Ssekitoleko and another person attacked a residence guarded by a UPDF soldier. The soldier was struck on the head with pavers and later died from the injuries. Several items were stolen from vehicles parked in the compound.
Ssekitoleko was arrested in April 2014 and, following investigations, was arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Nakawa and remanded to Upper Prison Luzira. However, upon arrival at Luzira, he informed prison authorities that he was below 18 years of age.
Medical examinations conducted at Mulago Hospital confirmed that he was a juvenile. A radiology report dated April 25, 2014 indicated that the appellant was under 18 years. The Officer in Charge of Upper Prison Luzira wrote to the trial magistrate, attaching the report and requesting that the appellant be transferred to a remand home because “it was illegal for them to detain a juvenile in a prison facility meant for adults.”
Despite this, the case later proceeded before the High Court, which convicted and sentenced him in 2018 to 31 years and two months’ imprisonment.
However, the justices of the Court of Appeal noted that during the trial, the appellant stated he was not yet 18 years old at the time of his arrest.
When he testified in his defence in February 2018, he said he was 20 years old — meaning he was about 17 years old in March 2014 when the offence was committed.
“This implies that he was below the majority age of 18 years and was therefore a child,” the justices held.
They faulted the trial judge for failing to properly address the question of age, despite clear evidence on record, including the prison authorities’ letter and medical report confirming that the appellant was a juvenile.
“Had the learned trial Judge addressed his mind to the age of the appellant, he would have noted that the way the appellant’s case was handled flouted some provisions of the Children Act,” the court ruled.
The appellate court pointed out that Ssekitoleko was initially remanded in an adult prison contrary to Section 89(8) of the Children Act.
According to the justices, after his bail was cancelled and he was committed to the High Court for trial, the record did not show where he was detained.
Additionally, the court observed that Ssekitoleko remained on remand for more than six months — the maximum period then allowed for capital offences involving juveniles under Section 91(5)(a) of the Children Act.
The justices also faulted the trial judge for sentencing him as an adult.
“He should have convicted him and remitted his case to the Family and Children Court to determine the appropriate sentence which should not have exceeded three years,” the court held, referring to Section 94(1) of the Children Act.
“We sadly and regrettably note that the appellant who committed the offences in 2014 as a juvenile remained on remand for a period of over three years as he awaited trial and overall has been in custody for a period of over 11 years now yet if the proper law and procedure had been followed he would have spent less than four years in custody."
The court noted that the violations amounted to a gross infringement of the appellant’s rights as a juvenile offender.
“We therefore find that all the irregularities and illegalities which caused gross violation of the appellant’s rights as a juvenile offender vitiated his trial and consequently his conviction cannot stand. Neither can the illegal sentence of 31 years and 2 months which was imposed on the appellant stand.”
The Court of Appeal accordingly quashed the conviction, set aside the sentence, and ordered that Ssekitoleko “be set free forthwith unless held on other charges.”