Uganda
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist de facto
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Uganda was a cosponsor of the amendments presented...
- News items in the archive
- 368
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Uganda is classified as Abolitionist de facto in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 368 news items on Uganda, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JUNE 24, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
In the first attempt ever, over 200 inmates on death...
In the first attempt ever, over 200 inmates on death row in Uganda signed a constitutional petition to eliminate the death penalty from the country's laws
- MAY 21, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court, acting as last court of appeal,...
The Supreme Court, acting as last court of appeal, ruled that the former Prime Minister of the western kingdom of Toro, John Sanyu Katuramu, must hang for murdering Prince Charles Happy Kijanangoma
- MAY 19, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
An inquiry into the murder of an Irish priest, the Rev
An inquiry into the murder of an Irish priest, the Rev
- APRIL 24, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Uganda voted against the resolution on the death penalty...
Uganda voted against the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva
- APRIL 12, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The Uganda Human Rights Commission said it was satisfied...
The Uganda Human Rights Commission said it was satisfied with the execution of three soldiers in Kitgum
- MARCH 31, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The Ugandan Constitutional Court ruled that the UPDF...
The Ugandan Constitutional Court ruled that the UPDF (Uganda's People's Defence Forces) might continue executing convicts sentenced to death by the army's field court martial
- MARCH 12, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Uganda's Attorney General (AG) supported capital punishment...
Uganda's Attorney General (AG) supported capital punishment issued by Field Court Martial, describing it as necessary to instil discipline in soldiers
- MARCH 11, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The Ugandan Government told the Constitutional Court...
The Ugandan Government told the Constitutional Court that executions sanctioned by the field courts-martial were necessary to instill discipline in the army
- MARCH 7, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Eriabu Magala, 51, was sentenced to death by the High...
Eriabu Magala, 51, was sentenced to death by the High Court in Mpigi for stabbing to death Eriazari Lutwama, 60, on suspicion that he was a witchdoctor
- MARCH 6, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International condemned the execution of three...
Amnesty International condemned the execution of three members of the Ugandan People's Defence Force (UPDF) who were convicted by a military court of murdering civilians
- MARCH 4, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The German Ambassador Klaus Holderbaum called for the...
The German Ambassador Klaus Holderbaum called for the abolition of the death penalty in Uganda
- MARCH 3, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Three Uganda People's Defence Forces [UPDF] soldiers...
Three Uganda People's Defence Forces [UPDF] soldiers were executed by firing squad in Kitgum, northern Uganda, for murder
- FEBRUARY 21, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
A Court of Appeals in Uganda upheld a death sentence...
A Court of Appeals in Uganda upheld a death sentence against two men accused of murder
- FEBRUARY 15, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Two UPDF soldiers and four other men were sentenced...
Two UPDF soldiers and four other men were sentenced to death by the High Court in Kampala for the murder of Lt
- FEBRUARY 13, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Ugandan prison officers urged the government to abolish...
Ugandan prison officers urged the government to abolish the death penalty and forwarded their proposals to end capital punishment to a commission reviewing the East African nation's constitution, a prisons service spokeswoman said
- JANUARY 29, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
A Ugandan High Court sitting in Mbale sentenced a man...
A Ugandan High Court sitting in Mbale sentenced a man to death for murder
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Uganda's 1995 Constitution retains the death sentence...
Uganda's 1995 Constitution retains the death sentence for crimes including treason, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and arms trading
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Treason, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances,...
Treason, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and arms trading
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Uganda has signed and ratified the statute of the International...
Uganda has signed and ratified the statute of the International Criminal Court, the UN permanent war crimes tribunal, that does not have the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Execution notices are pinned to the prison gate once...
Execution notices are pinned to the prison gate once issued, then the condemned prisoner is informed and asked to make a will before being taken to the gallows on the scheduled day
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Article 22 of the Constitution says no person shall...
Article 22 of the Constitution says no person shall be deprived of life intentionally except in execution of a sentence passed by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect a criminal offence under the laws of Uganda and the conviction and sentence have
- JANUARY 1, 2003UgandaDEATH PENALTY
As at December 31, 2002, 354 prisoners were on death...
As at December 31, 2002, 354 prisoners were on death row in Uganda according to the Prisons Department
- DECEMBER 10, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The Times of India reported that Justice BJ Odoki,...
The Times of India reported that Justice BJ Odoki, Chief Justice of Uganda, said that rape was considered the most heinous in his country
- NOVEMBER 16, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Justice Augustine Kania of the High Court has convicted...
Justice Augustine Kania of the High Court has convicted and sentenced to death a Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) an Local Defence Unit (LDU) soldier after finding them guilty of murder
- NOVEMBER 11, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Human-rights groups in Uganda stepped up their campaign...
Human-rights groups in Uganda stepped up their campaign against the death penalty, with several of them submitting strong memoranda to the Constitution Review Commission urging for its removal from the statute books
- NOVEMBER 9, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Miss Uganda beauty queen, Rehema Nakuya, is carrying...
Miss Uganda beauty queen, Rehema Nakuya, is carrying her mantle to the glamour of the Miss World beauty contest in Abuja, Nigeria
- OCTOBER 17, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
A European Union delegation in Uganda said it is still...
A European Union delegation in Uganda said it is still waiting for an independent inquiry into the March 22 murder of the former parish priest of Panyangara, Fr
- OCTOBER 17, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
A European Union delegation in Uganda said it is still...
A European Union delegation in Uganda said it is still waiting for an independent inquiry into the March 22 murder of the former parish priest of Panyangara, Fr
- OCTOBER 11, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
The Martial Appeals Court in Kampala upheld a death...
The Martial Appeals Court in Kampala upheld a death sentence against an ailing UPDF soldier who killed a colleague in Gulu district
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2002UgandaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International expressed concern over the safety...
Amnesty International expressed concern over the safety of 20 prisoners held by the Ugandan army at a military detention facility in the northern town of Gulu