Uganda v. Okiring

The complainant was carrying a bag of maize on the back of her bicycle. When the bag fell off, the defendant and two of his colleagues offered to help. Two then raped her and the third stole her bicycle. They fled when a friend of the complainant came up the road on his motorcycle. The victim recognized her attackers and identified them to the police. She also went to the hospital for a medical examination. The defendant denied the charges and claimed never to have seen the victim before court proceedings began. The trial court found credible the complainant and the prosecution’s other corroborating witnesses, which included the complainant's male friend who found her immediately after the rapes, local council members, and police. The Court made clear that the lack of medical evidence was not dispositive. As a first time offender who had served over three years awaiting trial, the Court sentenced the defendant to an additional 18 months imprisonment.