Court quashes Eritrean girl’s conviction over uninformed guilty plea
“These facts required the court to ascertain her age and consider the safeguards applicable to a child,” the judge said.
Unlawful entry and presence is an offence under the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act. (File photo)
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The High Court in Kampala has overturned the conviction and deportation order against an Eritrean child who pleaded guilty to illegally entering Uganda, ruling that the trial court never established that she understood what she was admitting.
High Court judge Paul Gadenya, in a judgment delivered on October 16, 2026, allowed her appeal, setting aside a December 10, 2025 decision of the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court. That court had cautioned her and ordered her deportation to Eritrea.
Through her next friend, the girl had pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and presence in Uganda under the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act.
However, dissatisfied with the orders, the girl, through her next friend, lodged an appeal to the High Court.
“These facts required the court to ascertain her age and consider the safeguards applicable to a child,” the judge said.
Justice Gadenya said the trial court should also have asked how she crossed the border, whether she entered voluntarily and whether she had sought international protection.
Although a Tigrinya interpreter was provided and the charge was read in a language she understood, the judge held that the court did not establish whether she grasped the elements of the offence or the consequences of pleading guilty.
The judge quashed her conviction on account that she was not represented by a lawyer and neither of her parents, guardian, probation officer or social welfare officer was present, in addition to the failure by the trial chief magistrate to make an inquiry into her age during the quashed proceedings.
Gadenya also faulted the trial court for failing to inform her about her consular rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
He stressed that consular assistance cannot substitute for the State’s duty to ensure a child facing criminal proceedings gets proper legal and procedural safeguards.
“The protections cannot depend on whether a foreign mission is able or willing to assist,” he said.
Consequently, the judge has ordered a fresh trial of the case after finding that the record did not show her guilty plea was informed and unequivocal.
Unlawful entry and presence is an offence under the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act.