By Daniel Kibet
Christopher Okello, the man convicted for the murder of four toddlers has initiated the appeal process against his death sentence.
This has been confirmed by the Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson Frank Baine.
This comes just days after the first-ever mobile high court sitting in Ggaba convicted him of the horrific murder of four toddlers at a day care center.
Okello becomes the 93rd prisoner on Uganda’s death row- two of them women.
He is currently being held in the condemned section of Luzira Upper Prison.
Baine says if Okello’s appeals that are before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court fail, his fate will then lie in the hands of President Museveni, who must sign the death warrant for execution to proceed.
‘’Because the process is that when the High Court sentences a person to death, then an appeal is made to the Court of Appeal. Then if the Court of Appeal agrees, normally they give a cap 14 days, 28 or 30. That’s normally the cap they give.
Then any appeal beyond that is called appeal out of time, but it’s also accepted as long as there is an application to show that you are appealing out of time then justifying the reasons,’’ Baine said.
‘’Now from the Court of Appeal there must be another appeal to the Supreme Court so when the Supreme Court agrees with the subordinate courts, then there will be one position, the prerogative of mercy,’’ he added.
While the Prisons Service says it is fully prepared to carry out executions, Baine reveals that they would actually prefer to reform and rehabilitate death row inmates rather than execute them.
Uganda has not carried out any executions since April 1999- more than 26 years ago, and President Museveni has not signed a death warrant in that period.
