Court reduces murder convict’s life sentence

MBARARA - The Court of Appeal sitting in Mbarara has reduced a life sentence earlier imposed on a man convicted of murdering his wife to 31 years and 10 months after finding that the trial court failed to sufficiently consider his mitigating circumstances.

A panel comprising Justices Cheborion Barishaki, Oscar John Kihika and Stella Alibateese ruled in favour of Yakobo Twinamatsiko, who had appealed against the life sentence handed to him by the High Court in Mbarara in 2012.

Twinamatsiko had been convicted of murder contrary to Sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act following the killing of his wife, Elivaida Kobukire, on May 5, 2009, in Kanyinya Cell, Ibanda district.

Court heard that on the evening of the incident, Twinamatsiko returned home from a trading centre and found the deceased preparing supper.

Prosecution evidence, particularly from prosecution witness number three , God Kabagambe, a son to both the appellant and the deceased, showed that he witnessed his father assault his mother on the head and abdomen before she fled the house.

The deceased was found lying dead near the family home the following morning.
Twinamatsiko denied responsibility for the killing and maintained during trial that he did not know what caused his wife’s death.

The High Court, presided over by Justice Wilson Kwesiga, convicted him of murder on September 4, 2012 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Dissatisfied with the punishment, Twinamatsiko appealed, arguing that the sentence was harsh and excessive and that the trial judge failed to mathematically deduct the period he had spent on remand before sentencing.

Through his lawyer, Geoffrey Chan Masereka, he argued that the High Court overlooked important mitigating factors, including that he was a first offender and had three children who depended on him.

Masereka further contended that although the trial court acknowledged that the appellant had spent three years and two months on remand, it failed to specifically deduct that period from the sentence as required under Article 23(8) of the Constitution.

The State, represented by Senior State Attorney Jane Musimenta, opposed the appeal, arguing that the life sentence was lenient considering that murder attracts a maximum penalty of death.

The prosecution maintained that the offence was committed violently and with cruelty, noting that evidence showed the appellant repeatedly boxed and kicked the deceased and threatened to beat her to death.

In its judgment, the Court of Appeal reiterated that sentencing is discretionary and that appellate courts only interfere where a sentence is illegal, excessive or imposed on wrong principles.

The justices noted that medical evidence presented during trial confirmed that the deceased suffered a ruptured spleen, which caused internal bleeding and haemorrhagic shock.

The court acknowledged aggravating factors, including that the victim was the appellant’s wife, the assault was deliberate and prolonged, threats to kill had been made, and the attack occurred in the presence of the couple’s children.

However, the justices found that the trial judge did not adequately balance those aggravating factors with mitigating considerations, particularly the fact that Twinamatsiko was a first offender.

“We find that the learned trial Judge did not sufficiently balance the mitigating circumstances of the appellant against the aggravating factors on record, especially ignoring the fact that the appellant was a first-time offender,” the court held.

The judges further stressed the need for consistency in sentencing and cited previous decisions where determinate prison terms were imposed in murder cases.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal set aside the life sentence and substituted it with 35 years’ imprisonment.

On the issue of remand, the court held that Article 23(8) of the Constitution does not apply to life imprisonment because it is not a definite sentence.

However, since the court had substituted life imprisonment with a determinate sentence of 35 years, it deducted the three years and two months that Twinamatsiko had spent on remand.

The appeal therefore partly succeeded, reducing his sentence to 31 years and 10 months.
The court ordered that the sentence be calculated from September 4, 2012, the date of conviction.