P O M V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appellant was convicted by the Resident Magistrate, Butere of Defilement of a Child contrary to section 8(1) as read with section 8(3) of the Sexual Offences Act - No. 3 of 2006 and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. The particulars of the charge stated that he unlawfully had carnal knowledge of A A a girl aged 14 years.

It is not necessary to narrate the evidence adduced against the appellant at the trial because the appeal both in the High Court and in this Court is against the sentence only. It is sufficient to say that the appellant who is HIV positive and whose wife had died defiled the complainant who was a primary school pupil.

The appellant appealed to the High Court against the sentence. The High Court appreciated that section 8(3) of the Sexual Offences Act prescribed a minimum sentence of twenty years for a person who defiles a child aged between 12 and 15 years. However, the High Court considered that the trial magistrate did not take into account t…