On the evening of April 22 2013, Godfrey Nabasa, 30, requested a young man (of 14 years) that they walk together. He took him to Busimbi market in Rakai district and bought him four pairs of shorts and some delicious pancakes.
The young man sort of knew him, although not very well. He had seen him in the area before therefore he felt comfortable in his company. On their way back at around 7PM, hell broke loose. Nabasa dragged the young man into a bush and requested him to remove his trousers.
Confused, the young man declined and tried to run away but Nabasa quickly grabbed him, pushed him to the ground, removed his trousers and inserted his manhood into the young man’s anus.
After doing his thing, Nabasa fled the scene. Later in the night, the young man narrated this horrifying ordeal to two friends who in turn alerted an older neighbour.
The neighbour tracked Nabasa down and took him to a police station. The young man was examined by a doctor who confirmed that his anus had been penetrated.
The case was taken to the High Court in Masaka and after three years of trial, Nabasa was convicted for “anal defilement” of a 14-year-old boy and sentenced to 43 years imprisonment by Justice Flavian Zeija on December 15, 2016.
Nabasa appealed the sentence, saying it was too harsh. First, Nabasa said he had spent more than three years on remand.
Second, his lawyer argued that at the time his client committed the crime, he was 30 years and had pleaded for leniency because by the time he leaves prison, he will be in his 70s and therefore not very productive.
Three justices of the Court of Appeal: Hellen Abulu Obura; Eva Luswata and Christopher Gashirabake heard the case. In the end, they agreed that the sentence of 43 years was harsh and slashed it to 26 years with effect from December 2016.
“The trial Judge gave no consideration to the period the Appellant spent on remand as required by the constitution. we therefore find that the sentence of 43 years’ imprisonment that he imposed contravened the constitution and was therefore illegal. It was made against clear principles of law. We have the powers to set it aside,” they ruled.
This means Nabasa will regain his freedom in 2042 instead of 2059.
