The loopholes in Judith Koriang's death sentence
Sep 28, 2010
TO cut the rising trend, Judith Koriang, I am sentencing you to suffer death as a deterrent to others planning the same act,†Lt Col. Eugene Sebugwawo, the chairman of the 3rd Division Court Martial, said while sentencing the 20-year-old mother to death for killing her husband.
TO cut the rising trend, Judith Koriang, I am sentencing you to suffer death as a deterrent to others planning the same act,†Lt Col. Eugene Sebugwawo, the chairman of the 3rd Division Court Martial, said while sentencing the 20-year-old mother to death for killing her husband.
On September 15, the court convicted Koriang for killing Pte Nelson Okello after he consistently accused her of being promiscuous. Koriang had tested HIV-positive, while Okello was negative. But Koriang said she had never cheated on her husband.
In her submission to the court, Koriang explained: “After all the mistreatment, the only answer was for me to kill my son, husband and then turn the gun on myself. Unfortunately, the gun ran short of bullets.â€
Ssebugwawo noted that a number of soldiers’ wives had killed their husbands. He added that Koriang’s sentence would help curb the practice.
However, this is like treating only the symptoms without attending to the cause. The army should investigate the causes of these unfortunate incidents and try to find a lasting solution.
We should not just wait for our soldiers to be killed by their spouses, and in turn kill the spouses using the legal machinery. We are only punishing their relatives and friends who suffer after losing their dear ones.
Death sentences cannot help in reducing such crimes. Koriang’s husband distressed her with his endless provocations at a time when she needed encouragement, support and understanding.
By the look of things, it seems the couple did not get sufficient counselling before and after testing.
If they had been properly counselled, Okello would have been more supportive and would not have called his wife promiscuous.
In counselling, they should have learnt that although the main transmission route for HIV/AIDS is sexual intercourse, there are other ways through which people get infected.
After professional counselling, the discordant couple would been discussed how to have protected sex, rather than the man calling the woman promiscuous, and the woman shooting him.
However, the Court Martial did not take this into consideration. The question now is, did Koriang get justice? The law requires that for a death sentence to be imposed, there should be malice aforethought. Did the Court Martial prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was malice aforethought on Koriang’s part?
It has been noted before that the military court system lacks independence, has a limited appeal procedure and weaker protection of the right to a fair trial. Yet these are the tenets of justice.
According to Article 129 of the Constitution, judicial power is derived from the people and shall be exercised by the courts (the Military Court Martial inclusive) in the name of the people, in conformity with the law and with the values, norms and aspirations of the people.
Questions are being asked whether the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda does not protect civilians against military laws such as the UPDF Act.
The Constitutional Court has held before that military courts are subordinate to all civilian courts, although the military is unenthusiastic about this finding. Koriang should be allowed to lodge her appeal to civilian courts instead of the Military Court Martial Court of Appeal.
The writer is the head of the Prime Minister's press unit, Kampala
On September 15, the court convicted Koriang for killing Pte Nelson Okello after he consistently accused her of being promiscuous. Koriang had tested HIV-positive, while Okello was negative. But Koriang said she had never cheated on her husband.
In her submission to the court, Koriang explained: “After all the mistreatment, the only answer was for me to kill my son, husband and then turn the gun on myself. Unfortunately, the gun ran short of bullets.â€
Ssebugwawo noted that a number of soldiers’ wives had killed their husbands. He added that Koriang’s sentence would help curb the practice.
However, this is like treating only the symptoms without attending to the cause. The army should investigate the causes of these unfortunate incidents and try to find a lasting solution.
We should not just wait for our soldiers to be killed by their spouses, and in turn kill the spouses using the legal machinery. We are only punishing their relatives and friends who suffer after losing their dear ones.
Death sentences cannot help in reducing such crimes. Koriang’s husband distressed her with his endless provocations at a time when she needed encouragement, support and understanding.
By the look of things, it seems the couple did not get sufficient counselling before and after testing.
If they had been properly counselled, Okello would have been more supportive and would not have called his wife promiscuous.
In counselling, they should have learnt that although the main transmission route for HIV/AIDS is sexual intercourse, there are other ways through which people get infected.
After professional counselling, the discordant couple would been discussed how to have protected sex, rather than the man calling the woman promiscuous, and the woman shooting him.
However, the Court Martial did not take this into consideration. The question now is, did Koriang get justice? The law requires that for a death sentence to be imposed, there should be malice aforethought. Did the Court Martial prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was malice aforethought on Koriang’s part?
It has been noted before that the military court system lacks independence, has a limited appeal procedure and weaker protection of the right to a fair trial. Yet these are the tenets of justice.
According to Article 129 of the Constitution, judicial power is derived from the people and shall be exercised by the courts (the Military Court Martial inclusive) in the name of the people, in conformity with the law and with the values, norms and aspirations of the people.
Questions are being asked whether the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda does not protect civilians against military laws such as the UPDF Act.
The Constitutional Court has held before that military courts are subordinate to all civilian courts, although the military is unenthusiastic about this finding. Koriang should be allowed to lodge her appeal to civilian courts instead of the Military Court Martial Court of Appeal.
The writer is the head of the Prime Minister's press unit, Kampala