The former Brigade Commander in Fort-Portal, Major...

The former Brigade Commander in Fort-Portal, Major Smarts Kiggundu, whom the General Court Martial (GCM) sentenced to death in 1995 on robbery charges, was set free by the Court Martial of Appeal (CMA).
Maj. Kiggundu's death penalty was set aside by a seven-member panel of the CMA chaired by Justice Elly Turyamubona. Kiggundu was released together with his junior, Lt. Tom Balimbya, with whom he was jointly charged of armed robbery, tried and convicted by the GCM at Mucwa Administration, Fort Portal.
Prosecution had alleged that the duo, on May 12, 1993 at Kagera near Mpanga bridge along Fort Portal-Mubende Road in Kabalore district, while armed, robbed various passengers travelling in a Styer bus and an omnibus, of money amounting to about Shs 6.2m.
Both were convicted on June 7, 1995 after spending two years on remand purely on circumstantial evidence, hence the appeal.
One of the ten grounds upon which they were released was that the trial court erred in law and in fact by exhibiting as evidence guns that had been brought from the armoury, not recovered from the scene of crime. None of the 12 witnesses identified the guns as the ones used in the robbery.
Delivering his judgement, Justice Turyamubona said the circumstances did not favour correct identification, for when the bus stopped, there was shooting, the robbers wore masks and the offence was committed in darkness, preventing the victims from identifying the robbers.
"We find the appellants were convicted on insufficient evidence, the investigations were not thorough, the trial was done in a biased manner and the appellants' respective defences were not considered. The total sum of these led to a failure of justice," Turyamubona said.
"In the result, we quash the conviction, set aside a death penalty on the appellants and order their immediate release from custody," he ruled.