THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
IN THE HIGH COURT UGANDA
AT THE SESSION HOLDEN AT MTJBENDE
CRIMINAL SESSION CASE NO. 30 OF 2000
UGANDA: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :::::::: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : PROSECUTOR
VERSUS
NO. 125182 APOLLO BAKAHEBWA::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ACCUSED
BEFORE: THE HONOURABLE MR. AG. JUSTICE PAUL K. MUGAMBA.
JUDGMENT
The accused was indicted for rape contrary to section 117 and 118 of the Penal Code Act. The prosecution called a total of five witnesses, namely, Kotilda Nabutono (PW1 the complainant), Moses Kisenyi (PW2), Private Opolot Gabriel (PW3), Nakyambadde Rosemary (PW4) and Dr Charles Kizza (PW5 a medical officer). For the accused the only witness was the accused himself.
Briefly the prosecution case was as follows. On the night of 7th July 1998 PW1, an old woman aged about 70 years was sleeping alone n her house when a stranger broke into her house by forcing the main door inside. Against her will the stranger proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her. On several occasions the stranger inserted his penis in both her vagina and her anus. He beat her up every time she tried to resist or raise alarm. At one time PW1 tricked the stranger that she was going to check on her door and ran outside in an effort to escape. But the stranger soon caught up with her and had sexual intercourse with her outside her house and forced her back inside the house. PW1 raised alarm several occasions but there was no answer to these. The stranger told PW1 that he was a soldier who had been transferred from Gulu to the army detach at Kirawula and that he had been at Kirawula for two days so far. In the absence of any light PW1 was not able to see any features of the stranger on that dark night. The stranger continued to have sexual intercourse with PW1 intermittently from about midnight to 7 a.m. In the morning PW1 was able to see the stranger clearly. At about 7 a.m the stranger demanded that PW1 accompany him and show him the road leading to Kirawula. PW1 was weak but managed to take the stranger to the road leading to Madudu. Madudu is in a direction opposite to that of Kirawula. No sooner had PW1 parted company with the stranger than she headed for The house of PW2 and PW4. She gave a brief description of the stranger to the two and stated that she had left him heading for Madudu. PW2 immediately left PW1 at his home being nursed by PW4 and headed straight for the road to Madudu. Soon after, PW2 met a lone stranger on the road to Madudu near a swamp. The stranger, asked PW2 for the way to Kirawula barracks. PW2 offered to take the stranger, who he identified as the accused, to Kirawula on his bicycle. PW2 had to turn his bicycle to the opposite direction in order to head for Kirawula. On the way to Kirawula PW2 met a soldier called Kasozi who moved along with him and the stranger towards the barracks. The stranger told PW2 that he had spent the previous night with a certain woman. The accused who wanted to attend the regular morning parade, was reluctant to enter the barracks through the quarter guard. PW3 told court how he had arrested accused after accused was handed over to him by PW2 and Kasozi. The accused had recently been transferred to Madudu detach at Kirawula, where PW3 served, in the past three days. PW4 had nursed PW1 at home and had observed fluids flowing from
