Court of Appeal sitting in Kampala has reduced a 61-year imprisonment term which was handed to Bagatenda Peter by Lady Justice Alividza Elizabeth, to just 21.
Bategyenda had been convicted of murdering Pauline Nasiwa, a 15-year-old girl and resident of Kawuku in Entebbe.
He was initially sentenced to death on 20th September, 2003 but after Supreme Court outlawed the death sentence, the case was brought before High Court Judge Elizabeth Jane Alidiviza who handed him 61 years in prison.
However, the Appellant has now ruled that the Judge did not follow the correct sentencing principles when she ordered the sentence to be reckoned from the resentencing date without considering his remand and post-conviction period jointly.
The judges also noted that Justice Alidiviza didn’t consider the fact that the Appellant had reformed during the period.
Upon analysing the evidence brought before court, the justices were convinced that the re-sentencing judge erred when she handed the Appellant a harsh sentence.
“We considered at great length the deliberations of the Judge and came to the conclusion that the sentence passed was harsh and excessive; did not take into consideration the time the appellant had spent on remand prior to the sentence and was riddled with illegal enhancements.”
As such the appellant court decided to reduce the sentence on to only 21 years.
