the Supreme Court has mandated the retrial of three convicts, namely Abubaker Tabo, Lukeman Wandera, and Shaban Nambiro, who were initially sentenced to 37 years and 3 months in prison for murder. The Supreme Court’s coram, consisting of Justices Faith Mwondha, Lillian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza, Percy Night Tuhaise, and Mike Chibita, has directed the Court of Appeal to conduct the retrial, assigning a different panel of judges.
The case dates back to 2016 when the High Court in Mbale sentenced Tabo, Wandera, and Nambiro for the murder of Sadat Shaban Malingha. The incident, which occurred on November 24, 2012, at Hamila village, Buhabeba Parish, Bulsolwe sub-county, Butaleja District, led to the imprisonment of the convicts for over three decades.
Initially charged alongside Hajji Maliki Wanambili, Eliasa Namunyu, and Musiho Ubaidi, the latter three having since passed away, the convicts faced a significant legal development on August 6, 2020. The Court of Appeal, led by Justices Egonda Ntende Cheborion Barishaki and Muzamiru Kibeedi, acquitted the convicts based on the argument that they had not pleaded to the charges at the beginning of the High Court trial.
Despite the acquittal and the subsequent order for release, the State appealed against the decision. In a ruling dated January 17, 2024, the Supreme Court highlighted a critical flaw in the proceedings, asserting that the Court of Appeal failed to provide the prosecution with a fair hearing.
“In the interest of justice, having found that the hearing at the Court of Appeal was not fair, this court nullifies the decision and orders issued by the Court of Appeal and mandates a re-hearing of the appeal before a different panel,” the Supreme Court ruled, invoking Rules 2(2) and 31 of its own rules.
