A man who faced the death penalty has been reprieved following a challenge to his sentence at the Court of Appeal in Uganda on 27 February 2024. His immediate release was also ordered.
WM was convicted of murder, after trial before the High Court in 2010. He was 15 years old at the time of the offence. The maximum sentence that can be lawfully imposed on a juvenile in Uganda is one of three years imprisonment. The trial judge determined, on State medical evidence, that WM was in fact an adult. At the conclusion of the proceedings, an order was made for him to be executed. He was to spend the next 14 years on death row.
WM was assisted by the criminal justice development charity, Evolve FILA. Mary Ruck KC, of Byrom Street Chambers, and Marianne Alton prepared submissions on behalf of the Appellant, WM. Geoffrey Turyamusiima was the advocate at the Court of Appeal sitting in Mbale, Eastern Uganda. All those involved acted pro bono.
The appeal was listed at short notice. Urgent submissions prepared on his behalf contended (amongst other things) that the findings in relation to his age were seriously flawed. The Court of Appeal quashed his sentence and ordered that he should spend no further time in custody. A full judgment will be handed down in due course.
Lincoln House Chambers is proud to support the work of Evolve FILA. Chambers provides funds that are essential to the charity’s casework for inmates on death row.
WM and Geoffrey Turyamusiima following WM’s successful appeal
