MBARARA-Justices Eva Luswata, Oscar Kihika and Asa Mugenyi on Wednesday concluded the hearing of 25 criminal appeals at Mbarara High Court Circuit.
The Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Buteera, flagged off the session on Monday, 2nd September 2024, with a pre-session stakeholder meeting in which he emphasised the importance of implementing feedback mechanisms to ensure effective justice delivery.
Of the 25 cause listed appeals, 22 were completed while three (03) were reserved for judgments, to be delivered on Friday 13th September 2024, a week away. This represented a completion rate of 88%.
Three Appellants unsuccessfully challenged prison terms of 22 and 25 years imprisonment for aggravated defilement and 20 years imprisonment for murder, respectively. In the partially allowed appeals, the appellants challenged the non-adherence to the constitutional requirement to deduct the pre-trial remand periods. The justices re-sentenced the Appellants.
The justices held a post-session meeting with court users. The head of the panel, Hon. Lady Justice Eva K. Luswata, thanked the Officers of ODPP, Advocates and other DCC actors, noting that the session’s success depended on their cooperation. She called on Advocates appearing before the Court of Appeal for the first time always to appear before the time scheduled for their cases to familiarize themselves with appellate procedures when Senior Advocates are proceeding.
Justices Kihika and Mugenyi underscored the importance of apprenticeship in harnessing the potential of young Advocates.
Speaking on behalf of the Bar, Martin Rukundo, Assistant DPP in Charge of the Regional Office of ODPP, expressed commitment to implement the lessons learned from the session.
