Court reduces Mukono defiler’s jail term by three years
The court, comprising Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Ketrah Katunguka and Cornelia Kakooza Sabiiti, held that the failure to make an arithmetical deduction of the remand period rendered the original sentence unconstitutional.
Kigere had appealed against the 18-year prison sentence imposed by High Court Judge Margaret Mutonyi after he pleaded guilty to aggravated defilement, contrary to sections 129(3) and 129(4)(b) of the Penal Code Act.
KAMPALA - The Court of Appeal has reduced the prison sentence of a man convicted of aggravated defilement of a nine-year-old girl from 18 years to 15 years, two months and 19 days after finding that the period he spent on remand had not been properly deducted.
The court, comprising Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Ketrah Katunguka and Cornelia Kakooza Sabiiti, held that the failure to make an arithmetical deduction of the remand period rendered the original sentence unconstitutional.
In a judgment dated October 30, 2026, the justices ordered that the appellant, Kigere Robert, serve 15 years, two months and 19 days, calculated from October 1, 2019, the date he was convicted by the High Court at Mukono.
Kigere had appealed against the 18-year prison sentence imposed by High Court Judge Margaret Mutonyi after he pleaded guilty to aggravated defilement, contrary to sections 129(3) and 129(4)(b) of the Penal Code Act.
According to the facts contained in the plea-bargaining agreement, Kigere committed the offence on December 7, 2016, at Kiyunga Village in Mukono District, where he had sexual intercourse with a nine-year-old girl.
He entered into a plea-bargaining agreement and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment, inclusive of two years, nine months and 11 days he had spent on remand.
His lawyer, Albert Mooli, also questioned the validity of the plea-bargaining process, arguing that Kigere had been pressured and intimidated into signing the agreement without fully understanding its consequences.
However, the prosecution, represented by Chief State Attorney Fatinah Nakafeero, opposed the appeal, arguing that Kigere had voluntarily agreed with the assistance of his lawyer.
The prosecution further submitted that the 18-year sentence was neither illegal nor excessive, considering that the victim was nine years old.
In resolving the appeal, the justices upheld Kigere’s conviction, finding that the trial judge had explained the plea-bargaining agreement to him and that he had confirmed his understanding and voluntary acceptance of its terms.
The court rejected the allegation that he had been coerced, finding that it had been raised on appeal without evidential support.
On the sentence, the justices noted that the trial court had stated that the 18-year term included the period Kigere had spent on remand.
This meant that he had spent two years, nine months and 11 days on remand, which the court said had not been arithmetically deducted from the sentence as required by the Supreme Court decision in Rwabugande Moses versus Uganda.
The justices held that the Constitution requires courts to take into account the period an accused person spends on remand and make an arithmetical deduction when imposing a sentence.
The court, therefore, exercised its powers under section 11 of the Judicature Act to resentence Kigere.
It maintained the original 18-year sentence agreed upon under the plea bargain but deducted the two years, nine months and 11 days spent on remand, leaving him with 15 years, two months and 19 days.
The court also referred to previous aggravated defilement cases, including Kidega Sabino alias Agongo versus Uganda, in which an appellant’s sentence was reduced from 30 to 27 years for defiling a six-year-old girl.
It also cited Robert Kiiza versus Uganda, in which the sentence was reduced from 30 to 25 years for defiling a four-and-a-half-year-old girl.
The justices ordered that Kigere serve the reduced sentence from October 1, 2019, the date of his conviction.