Army court sentences man to 15-year jail term for murder

Sep 14, 2017

Ogwang together with 14 others on August 14, 2014, shot dead Moses Ogwang in Bweyale trading centre, Gulu district.

Lt.Gen. Andrew Gutti 

Tonny Ogwang, a resident of Bweyale in Gulu district has had his sentence reduced from 20 to 15-years imprisonment for murder by the General Court Martial, in the city suburb of Makindye.

According to prosecution, Ogwang together with 14 others on August 14, 2014, shot dead Moses Ogwang in Bweyale trading centre, Gulu district.

Today the army court presided over by Lt.Gen. Andrew Gutti observed that the trial court sentence was harsh, to a first offender who pleaded guilty to the charges.

"The trial court sentence was unreasonably stayed, a delay that affected not only the court composition, but also subjected the convict to an inordinate and prolonged anguish while awaiting sentence," Lt. Gen Gutti said.

He noted that Ogwang spent eight months on remand after pleading guilty to the charges, which was unfair. "The accused's plea of guilty meant he was remorseful and repentant with a possibility of reforming but he over stayed on remand".

According to Lt. Gen. Gutti, the trial court erred when it awarded Ogwang the sentence, five months after his conviction. He said the sentence should have been determined within a period not exceeding seven days from the date of conviction.   

In 2015, Ogwang together with 14 others were charged with murder contrary to section 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act (PCA). He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 20-years imprisonment on April 16, 2015.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});