S.C rules that, "There's no clearly defined threshold for the interpretation of the word "SHALL".

The Supreme Court in the case of Uganda Vs Nsubuga Guster & Another

in which the defendants, Nansubuga Guster and his counterpart Robinhood Byamukama were first convicted in high court for hacking the URA system.

But later, the court of appeal had their conviction quashed and applications for bail processed which order court stayed due to the appeal in the Supreme Court.

The coram of 5 justices headed by the Hon Chief Justice Alphonso Owinyi Dollo, Hon Justice Stella Arach-Amako, Hon Justice Ruby Opio-Aweri, Hon Justice Ezekiel Muhanguzi and Hon Justice Mike Chibita yesterday set aside the Court of Appeal Judgement which had ruled in favor of the respondents, agreed that the trial was a nullity, quashed the conviction, and set aside the sentence and ordered a retrial.

And the Court of Appeal had preciously held the fact that the accused didn’t take plea to an amended charge sheet amounted to a miscarriage of justice thus quashed the conviction of the High Court and ordered a retrial.

The Supreme Court ruled that the use of ‘shall’ under

S. 51(1) TIA which states that

(1) Where an indictment is altered under section 50—

(a) the court shall thereupon call upon the accused person to plead to the altered indictment;

The Justices ruled that;

"There's no clearly defined threshold for the interpretation of the word "shall" as used in a statutory provision.

However courts look at the intention of parliament while enacting the various provisions in order to determine what is mandatory or directory.

We would conclude that sections 51(1) of the TIA is one of those, given the circumstances of this case which has to be construed as being directory rather than mandatory."

The Justices also ruled that not taking plea to the amended charge sheet did not occasion a miscarriage of justice.

The judgment of the High Court has been upheld ie conviction and sentence and respondents have been sent back to serve 12 years accordingly.

To read the full case click the link below 👇🏻 https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6833190425738661888 Or https://t.co/bcYpWuNHWy By Waboga David UCU LLB4 Note: This legal alert is a summary and analysis of the cited legal authorities and case details. For specific legal advice, consultation with a qualified legal professional is recommended