Supreme Court ‘sends away’ appeal-seeking soldier

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The Supreme Court has ‘sent away’ a Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) officer, who was sentenced to life imprisonment over murder by the Court Martial Appeal Court in Makindye.

The court explained that they do not have jurisdiction over the matter arising from the army court.

The decision arose from an appeal filed by Lt. Ambrose Ogwang. On June 18, 2010, the UPDF 3rd Divisional Court Martial, sitting at the 3rd Brigade in Mbale city sentenced Ogwang to death for killing Police officer George William Koire using a submachine gun rifle.

Subsequently, Ogwang appealed to the General Court Martial, which on September 13, 2012, confirmed the appellant's conviction for murder, but substituted the death penalty with life imprisonment.

He appealed to the UPDF Court Martial Appeal Court, sitting at Makindye, Kampala, which also upheld the conviction and sentence. The appellant then pursued a third appeal in the Court of Appeal, which on November 8, 2018, quashed the appellant's conviction for murder and set aside the sentence.

The appellate court ordered for Ogwang’s retrial in the High Court on account that the trial by the 3rd Division Court Martial was a mistrial. He appealed to the Supreme Court.

However, the Supreme Court justices led by Lillian Tieatemwa Ekirikubinza, ruled that the Court of Appeal was devoid of jurisdiction to entertain an appeal from the Court Martial Appeal Court.

Other justices on the panel, are Mike Chibita, Stephen Musota, Christopher Madrama and Catherine Bamugemereire.

“This appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The appellant shall serve sentence as lawfully meted by the Court Martial Appeals Court,” Ekirikubinza ruled.

The justices ruled that the appellant being a soldier, was properly tried by the military court martial courts.

The justices explained that the right to appeal is created by statute, adding that where the Legislature did not provide for an appeal in the UPDF or by other law in force in Uganda, a minister cannot introduce jurisdiction by way of regulation.

“It was ultra vires of the minister to make regulations to provide that appellant’s sentence to life imprisonment by court martial appeal courts had recourse to appeal to the Court of Appeal,” Ekirikubinza noted.

The justices stated that it can be inferred that since UPDF Act is silent on the role of civilian courts, no jurisdiction is conferred upon them. Indeed, one may impute that had the legislature intended that the civil courts should have jurisdiction over Military Court Martial Courts, it would have purposefully provided for the jurisdiction by law.