Criminal
The Penal Code Act with substantial constitutional litigation over its colonial provisions
The Penal Code Act (Cap 120) is the principal offence-creating statute. Courts have struck down several inherited provisions, including the offence of sedition and the mandatory death penalty in Kigula, and the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 has been the subject of constitutional challenge.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Magistrates' courts try most offences; the High Court tries capital offences; the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court sit above.
- Deadline — Arrested person brought before court: within 48 hours under article 23(4)
- Deadline — Capital offences: committed to the High Court for trial
Governing law
- Penal Code ActCap 120
- Trial on Indictments ActCap 23
- Anti-Terrorism Act, 2002No. 14 of 2002
In practice
Kigula v Attorney General is the landmark: the Supreme Court held the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional while preserving the discretionary penalty, and required the resentencing of hundreds of prisoners. Ugandan criminal law is therefore a good illustration of a colonial code surviving in text while being reshaped by constitutional review — the same pattern as Kenya, but through a different court structure.