Capital punishment in Uganda

Last updated

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Uganda. The death penalty was likely last carried out in 1999, although some sources say the last execution in Uganda took place in 2005. Regardless, Uganda is interchangeably considered a retentionist state with regard to capital punishment, due to absence of "an established practice or policy against carrying out executions," [1] as well as a de facto abolitionist state due to the lack of any executions for over one decade. [2]

Contents

Uganda has taken recent steps towards abolition, such as several measures to abolish the mandatory death penalty; however, they have also taken recent steps towards expanding the death penalty, such as their 2023 bill prescribing the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality.'

Methods and statutes

A 1965 report on worldwide death penalty usage reported that Uganda only implemented the death penalty for murder, treason, and espionage, and that Uganda's exclusive method of execution was hanging. [3] In 2023, Uganda's methods of execution were hanging and shooting. [4]

History and recent developments

Uganda's first recorded execution took place in 1917. [5]

Most recent executions and developments

From 1996 to 1999, Uganda experienced an unofficial moratorium and "effective ban" on executions, although this was reversed with the execution of several death row inmates in April 1999. [6] [7] In late April 1999, Amnesty International identified 28 men who were at risk of being imminently executed on 30 April 1999 at 7:30 pm, in Luzira Maximum Security Prison in the capital city of Kampala. Twenty-six of the inmates had been convicted of murder, while two inmates were convicted of aggravated robbery. One of the 28 men was Haji Musa Sebirumbi, a former National Security Agent and official formerly affiliated with the Uganda People's Congress, who had been on death row since his 1989 conviction of five murders he committed in 1981, and the loss of his appeal in June 1992, while Amnesty was not able to identify details about the other impending executions. Amnesty did identify thirteen separate death row inmates who Uganda's Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy spared by commuting their death sentences to life imprisonment. [8] Despite Amnesty International's appeals to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on behalf of the 28 condemned inmates, all 28 inmates were executed by hanging as scheduled, with the executions taking place "in phases" of several inmates at a time. [9] [10] The executions drew condemnation from the European Union and the United Kingdom. [7]

Several sources state that the 28 civilian hangings in April 1999 were the most recent executions to take place in Uganda. [5] [11] Other sources state that Uganda's last execution took place in 2005 and that Uganda was one of only four nations in Africa (out of 53 total) to carry out any executions in 2005, the others being Libya, Somalia, and Sudan. [12] The 2005 execution was supposedly carried out for military crimes, as opposed to the 1999 executions, which were for civilian crimes. [13]

In 2018, President Museveni posted to Twitter to indicate his intention to revive the death penalty and sign death warrants in an attempt to address increasing crime rates, particularly in Kampala. Museveni stated that his hesitation to sign death warrants came from his "Christian background. . . . but being lenient is causing people to think they can cause harm and get away with it. I will revise my position." [14] Critics of Museveni's government accused Museveni of using the proposed return of the death penalty to threaten his political opponents rather than to address rising crime rates, as well as using discussion about reviving capital punishment to distract from a new constitutional amendment that would permit him to rule "for life" by eliminating the preexisting age limit prohibiting a Ugandan president from serving past the age of 75. [14]

In 1999, at the time of the hangings on 30 April, there were over 1,000 death row inmates in Uganda. [8] In 2012, there were an estimated 6,000 inmates on remand awaiting trial on capital charges that potentially carried the death penalty. [11] Despite Uganda's lack of executions since 2005, in 2017, there were still over 250 inmates on Uganda's death row. [2] By 2019, the number had decreased to 133, although by 2023, the number of death row inmates in Uganda had slightly increased to 145. [4] [15]

2002–2009: Susan Kigula case, and the abolition of Uganda's mandatory death penalty

The case of Susan Kigula was instrumental in leading to Uganda's abolition of the mandatory death penalty for murder. In 2002, Kigula and her housekeeper, Patience Nansamba, were convicted of the murder of Kigula's husband; both were sentenced to death, as at the time, Uganda's capital punishment statutes prescribed a mandatory death sentence in murder cases. [16] Kigula's attorneys joined with anti-death penalty activists active in challenging the death penalty in Africa and the Caribbean region in using Kigula's case to challenge Uganda's mandatory death penalty laws. At the time Kigula was selected to be the lead applicant for an appeal challenging Uganda's mandatory death penalty, there were 417 total inmates on Uganda's death row, although by 2009, this number had grown to approximately 900. [16]

The challenge Kigula and her attorneys presented on behalf of all Ugandan death row inmates proved successful; in 2005, Uganda's Constitutional Court abolished the mandatory death penalty for murder, finding it to be a "violation of fundamental human rights" and putting an inmate's right to a fair trial in jeopardy due to eliminating the opportunity for mitigation in sentencing, and requiring the Ugandan government to re-sentence every inmate on death row. The Constitutional Court simultaneously announced that any Ugandan inmates who had been condemned to die for longer than three years without having their death sentence carried out were entitled to a commutation of their sentence due to the mental suffering lengthy delays could cause to condemned inmates. [16] [17] These decisions were both affirmed by the Supreme Court of Uganda on 21 January 2009. However, while Uganda's mandatory death penalty law for murder cases was again held to be unconstitutional, the Supreme Court of Uganda upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty as a whole and declared that hanging was not a cruel and unusual method of execution and was thus still constitutional. [16] [18]

Uganda's High Court reevaluated Kigula's own death sentence during a 2011 hearing; for the first time since the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, the High Court was permitted to consider holistic views of capital defendants' characters and took Kigula's good behaviour behind bars and lack of prior record into consideration. Uganda's High Court ultimately commuted Kigula's sentence to 20 years' imprisonment. Kigula's housekeeper Nansamba had her sentence commuted to 16 years' imprisonment. [16] [19] Kigula was released from prison in 2016 after being given credit for time served. [16]

Additional mandatory death penalty abolition

In 2019, the Parliament of Uganda passed a law abolishing the mandatory death penalty for additional crimes. The Kigula case led to the abolition of mandatory capital punishment for murder, while the Ugandan Parliament passed an additional law to prohibit the mandatory death penalty under the Ugandan Anti-Terrorism Act. The new law restricted the death penalty so it would only be applied at a judge's discretion. [15] Ugandan legislators saw the 2019 law as a gesture towards undermining and abolishing capital punishment entirely, while the Ugandan Prisons Service commended the law for promoting the prison system's goal of rehabilitating inmates. [15]

2023: Anti-Homosexuality Bill

In 2023, the Parliament of Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023, which among other restrictions against LGBT people, prescribes the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality.' [20] The law took effect in June 2023. In August 2023, two Ugandan men located in the city of Soroti – 20-year-old Michael Opolot and an unnamed 41-year-old man – were at risk of becoming the first to receive the death penalty under Uganda's new anti-homosexuality statutes. Opolot's trial date was projected to be over three years from the time of his arrest due to the higher stakes involved in capital prosecutions in Uganda. At the same time of Opolot's arrest, a Ugandan lawyer identified another case of a female massage parlor operator charged with homosexuality and "promotion of homosexuality." Attorney and activist Frank Mugisha criticized Uganda's anti-homosexuality law as promoting a "witch hunt" for LGBTQ people in Uganda. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime, usually following an authorised, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment by country</span> Overview of the use of capital punishment in several countries

Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as a punishment for a crime. It has historically been used in almost every part of the world. Since the mid-19th century many countries have abolished or discontinued the practice. In 2022, the 5 countries that executed the most people were, in descending order, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United States</span> Legal penalty in the United States

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.

Capital punishment was abolished in 2019 in New Hampshire for persons convicted of capital murder. It remains a legal penalty for crimes committed prior to May 30, 2019.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Pakistan. Although there have been numerous amendments to the Constitution, there is yet to be a provision prohibiting the death penalty as a punitive remedy.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Malaysian law.

Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution, even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists. In the United States, after an individual is found guilty of a capital offense in states where execution is a legal penalty, the judge will give the jury the option of imposing a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It is then up to the jury to decide whether to give the death sentence; this usually has to be a unanimous decision. If the jury agrees on death, the defendant will remain on death row during appeal and habeas corpus procedures, which may continue for several decades.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in South Korea. As of December 2012, there were at least 60 people on death row in South Korea. The method of execution is hanging.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Guatemala, and is carried out by lethal injection and, to a lesser extent, the firing squad. The death penalty today remains only in Guatemala's military codes of justice, and was abolished for civilian offences in October 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Ukraine</span>

Capital punishment was abolished in Ukraine in 2000. In 1995 Ukraine entered the Council of Europe and thus was obliged to abolish the death penalty. The Verkhovna Rada introduced amendments to the then-acting Criminal Code in 2000, according to which "death penalty" was withdrawn from the list of official punishments of Ukraine. Ukraine carried out its last execution in 1997 according to Amnesty International.

Capital punishment has been a legal penalty in Kenya since before its independence, and continues to be so under Kenyan law. No executions have been carried out in Kenya since 1987, when Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu, leaders of the 1982 coup d'état attempt, were hanged for treason.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Nigeria.

Capital punishment remains a legal penalty for multiple crimes in the Gambia. However, the country has taken recent steps towards abolishing the death penalty.

Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty following a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.

Capital punishment is no longer a legal punishment in Rwanda. The death penalty was abolished in the country in 2007.

Capital punishment in Lesotho is legal. However, despite not having any official death penalty moratorium in place, the country has not carried out any executions since the 1990s and is therefore considered de facto abolitionist.

Capital punishment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal; however, the nation has not carried out any executions since 2003, meaning that the country experienced a de facto moratorium on the death penalty from their latest executions in 2003 until March 2024.

Capital punishment in Burkina Faso has been abolished. In late May 2018, the National Assembly of Burkina Faso adopted a new penal code that omitted the death penalty as a sentencing option, thereby abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Eritrea. However, Eritrea is considered "abolitionist in practice," as the nation's most recent official execution took place in 1989. No executions have taken place in Eritrea since they declared independence from Ethiopia and gained international recognition in 1993.

References

  1. ↑ "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Uganda and the Death Penalty". Parliamentarians for Global Action. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  3. ↑ Patrick, Clarence H. (December 1965). "The Status of Capital Punishment: A World Perspective". The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science. 56 (4): 403 – via JSTOR.
  4. 1 2 "Uganda". WCADP (World Coalition Against the Death Penalty) . 2023-05-23. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  5. 1 2 Obura, Augustine (2015-10-07). "Situation of the Death Penalty in Uganda" (PDF). PG Action. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  6. ↑ "Executions decline in 1999". BBC News . 2000-04-18. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  7. 1 2 "Uganda: Human Rights Developments". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  8. 1 2 Amnesty International (1999-04-28). "Uganda: Executions to resume with hangings of 28 people". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  9. ↑ "UGANDA: Government carries out execution of 28 prisoners". The New Humanitarian. 1999-05-01. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  10. ↑ "Uganda: Luzira Confirms Executions". All Africa. 1999-05-01. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  11. 1 2 "Death Row in Uganda". Counsel Magazine. 2012-07-31. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  12. ↑ Babcock, Sandra (2007). "The Global Debate on the Death Penalty". Human Rights. 34 (2): 17–20. ISSN   0046-8185.
  13. ↑ "EU calls on Uganda to abolish death penalty". Delegation of the European Union to Uganda. 2021-10-12. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  14. 1 2 Biryabarema, Elias (2018-01-19). "Uganda's Musuveni says might resume executions". Reuters . Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  15. 1 2 3 BBC (21 August 2019). "Uganda abolishes mandatory death penalty". The East African. NMG. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Susan Kigula". The Death Penalty Project. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  17. ↑ "Press Release: 417 Saved from the Death Penalty in Uganda - the End of the Mandatory Death Penalty in Africa?". The Death Penalty Project. 2005-06-13. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  18. ↑ Mujuzi, Jamil Ddamulira (2009). "International Human Rights Law and Foreign Case Law in Interpreting Constitutional Rights: The Supreme Court of Uganda and the Death Penalty Question". African Human Rights Law Journal. 9 (2): 576–589.
  19. ↑ Nsambu, Hillary (2011-11-12). "Kigula's death sentence reduced to imprisonment". New Vision. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  20. ↑ Assheton, Richard (23 March 2023). "Uganda anti-homosexuality bill sets death penalty as punishment". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  21. ↑ VOA News (2023-08-30). "Two Ugandan Males Face Death Penalty for Violating Anti-Gay Law". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.