Plea

With the aid of authorities and drawing from your observation of the trial procedure, discuss the law
of plea taking in Uganda.

The administration of justice in Uganda is based on the Constitutional principles that all persons are
equal before the law; and that all persons are entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent,
independent and impartial tribunal established by law Article 28(1) of the 1995 constitution as amended.
The machinery and procedure in our legal institutions must be maintained for the enforcement of the
inherent and inalienable rights of an individual, contained in the Constitution. Not all people who are sent
up for trial are guilty of offences with which they are charged. The procedure which governs court
proceedings before it arrives at that conclusion has to be such as is fair, inspires confidence and at the
same time is not such as provides a wide escape route for the guilty. The procedure spells much of the
difference between rule of law and rule by whim and caprice.“The objective of criminal procedure is
therefore to ensure that the accused is given a full and fair trial in accordance with the principles of
natural justice.” Musa Sekaana, Criminal Procedure and Practice in Uganda.Criminal proceedings may
be instituted against a person by presenting a Charge Sheet and/or an Indictment in the Chief Magistrates
Court and/or High Court respectively.The person against whom criminal proceedings are instituted is
referred to as the accused and the person who presents the charge sheet or indictment is referred to as the
prosecutor. A Charge Sheet is a document indicating the offence which the accused is said to have
committed and the details surrounding the commission of that offence S.85 of the MCA. It is filed only in
the Chief Magistrate Courts.An Indictment performs the same role as the Charge sheet except that it is filed
in the High Court.
For proceedings instituted in the High Court, it is mandatory to commit the accused to the High Court. The
committal proceedings of the accused are conducted in the Chief Magistrates Court following which the
accused is sent to the High Court for trial.At the trial, whether in the Chief Magistrates Court or High Court,
the offence will be read to the accused after which he/she will be expected to respond (Take Plea) as laid
down under S. 119 - 160 of the MCA. The accused is arraigned or informed of the charge against him/her
and is asked to plead.(S.124 of the MCA) S.62 of the TIA . A plea is an answer to a charge. It may be an
admission or a denial to a charge. Section 2 of the Civil Procedure Act defines pleadings to include “any
petition or summons, and also includes the statements in writing of the claim or demand of any plaintiff,
and of the defence of any defendant to them,and the reply of the plaintiff to any defence or counterclaims
of a defendant”.
The accused may plead guilty, not guilty or that he/she has been previously acquitted or pardoned for the
offence he/she is being charged with.If the accused pleads guilty, then the judicial officer will record that
plea and then proceed to sentence the accused in accordance with the law. Ayume, Criminal Procedure
and the law in Uganda. The correct procedure for recording a plea of guilty was settled by SPRY V.P (as
he then was) in Adan Versus Republic (1973)E.A 446. in the following terms:- “When a person is charged,
the charge and the particulars should be read out to him, so far as possible in his own language, but if that is
not possible, then in a language which he can speak and understand. The Magistrate should then explain to
the accused person all the essential ingredients of the offence charged. If the accused then admits all those
essential elements, the Magistrate should record what the accused has said, as nearly as possible in his own
words, and then formerly enter a plea of guilty.
The Magistrate should next ask the prosecutor to state the facts of the alleged offence and, when the
statement is complete, should give the accused an opportunity to dispute or explain the facts or to add any
relevant facts which, if true, might raise a question as to his guilty, the Magistrate should record a change of
plea to “not guilty” and proceed to hold a trial. If the accused does not deny the alleged facts in any material
respect, the Magistrate should record a conviction and proceed to hear any further facts relevant to
sentence”. For a conviction to be properly based on a plea of guilty, the plea must be an unequivocal
admission of all essential elements of the offence as emphasized in Uganda Versus Charles Olet (1991)
HCB 13.
However, if the accused pleads not guilty, the provisions of Section 126 of the MCA comes into play, then
court will proceed to hear the evidence from the State attorney who is referred to as the prosecutor.After
hearing evidence from the prosecution, court will make a ruling as to whether the accused has a case to
answer .See Uganda v Okwang Micheal (1192-93) HCB 62 The prosecutor opens the case and calls
witnesses to testify against the accused. The witnesses are examined-in chief buy the prosecutor, they are
then cross-examined by the accused or his/her advocate, and the prosecutor may lastly re- examine them.
After they have testified, the court will rule whether there is a prima facie case made out against the accused
to justify being put on his/her defence.
If court finds that the accused has no case to answer, then he/she will be discharged. If court finds that the
accused has a case to answer, then he/she will be required to give his/her defence by giving his/her
testimony and/or calling witnesses to testify.
Court will then go ahead to give judgment after hearing the evidence from both sides. If the accused is
found not guilty, then he/she will be acquitted forthwith (S.127) . If the accused is found guilty, then court
will proceed to hear the accused in mitigation of his sentence where he/she explains to court why court
should lessen his sentence. Court will then proceed to give its sentence in accordance with the law. The
judgment must be pronounced in open court (Section 135).
It is against this background that Plea Bargain, a new mechanism set to enhance the effectiveness of the
Criminal Justice System in Uganda just might be the antidote for all parties involved in a trial; the accused,
the victim, prosecution as well as the court. It is regulated by the Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules, 2016
which create an infinite number of potential bargaining options and outcomes throughout all stages of the
trial.
Plea bargaining is a negotiated agreement between the prosecution and an accused person who is
represented by a Lawyer. Kanyamunyu Mathew v Uganda Criminal Miscellaneous Application 151 of
2020) [2020] UGHCCRD 144 (09 November
2020, it was stated that, plea bargains present a process where such factual and legal issues are resolved
through a process of negotiation and inquisitorial proof, resulting in a counseled guilty plea, that is both
voluntary and
intelligent, which is an admission of factual guilt.
The accused person then comes before the Hon. Judge to plead guilty to the charges against him/her in
exchange for a lesser sentence without going through a full trial10. Who is involved in the process? i. Court
ii. Prosecution iii. Accused person/ counsel iv. Victims v. Probation officers. Procedure at the hearing
of a plea bargain includes;
i. Agreement must be explained to the accused by advocate – justice of peace or interpreter
ii. Prosecution must take into account the victim’s interests
iii. Implications of the agreement must be explained to him/her and court must be sure that it is not
obtained under force, coercion or misrepresentation of facts.
This is being implemented now because in the past, the Judiciary has come up with a lot of initiatives like
quick win sessions, plea of guilt sessions, sentencing guidelines, recruiting of judges and magistrates to ease
case backlog and it has been realized that there is need to add another initiative.
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With the aid of authorities and drawing from your observation of the trial procedure, discuss the law

of plea taking in Uganda.

Downloaded by Alex Okiria

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