Chapter 34

PUNISHMENT FOR FORGERY.

347. General punishment for forgery.

Any person who forges any document commits an offence which, unless otherwise stated, is a felony and is liable, unless owing to the circumstances of the forgery or the nature of the thing forged some other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for three years.

348. Forgery of wills, etc.

(1) Any person who forges any will, document of title to land, judicial record, power of attorney, bank note, currency note, bill of exchange, promissory note or other negotiable instrument, policy of insurance, cheque or other authority for the payment of money by a person carrying on business as a banker is liable to imprisonment for life.

(2) The court may, in addition, order that the forged document referred to in subsection (1) shall be forfeited to the Government.

349. Forgery of judicial or official document.

Any person who forges any judicial or official document is liable to imprisonment for ten years.

350. Forgery of and other offences in relation to stamps.

Any person who— (a) forges any stamp, whether impressed or adhesive, used for the purposes of revenue or accounting by a Government department;

(b) without lawful excuse, the proof whereof shall lie upon him or her, makes or has knowingly in his or her possession any die or instrument capable of making the impression of any such stamp;

(c) fraudulently cuts, tears in any way or removes from any material any stamp used for purposes of revenue or accounting by the Government, with intent that another use shall be made of the stamp or any part of it;

(d) fraudulently mutilates any stamp referred to in paragraph (c) of this section with intent that another use shall be made of the stamp;

(e) fraudulently fixes or places upon any material or upon any stamp referred to in paragraph (d) of this section any stamp or part of a stamp which whether fraudulently or not has been cut, torn or in any way removed from any other material or out of or from any other stamp;

(f) fraudulently erases or otherwise either really or apparently removes from any stamped material any name, sum, date or other matter or thing written on it with the intent that another use shall be made of the stamp upon such material; or

(g) knowingly and without lawful excuse, the proof of which shall lie upon him or her, has in his or her possession any stamp or part of a stamp which has been fraudulently cut, torn or otherwise removed from any material, or any stamp which has been fraudulently mutilated, or any stamped material out of which any name, sum, date or other matter or thing has been fraudulently erased or otherwise really or apparently removed, is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

351. Uttering false documents.

Any person who knowingly and fraudulently utters a false document commits an offence of the same kind and is liable to the same punishment as if he or she had forged the thing in question.

352. Uttering cancelled or exhausted documents.

Any person who knowingly utters as and for a subsisting and effectual document, any document which has by any lawful authority been ordered to be revoked, cancelled or suspended, or the operation of which has ceased by effluxion of time or by death, or by the happening of any other event commits an offence of the same kind and is liable to the same punishment as if he or she had forged the document.

353. Procuring execution of documents by false pretences.

Any person who by means of any false and fraudulent representation as to the nature, content or operation of a document, procures another to sign or execute the document commits an offence of the same kind and is liable to the same punishment as if he or she had forged the document.

354. Obliterating crossings on cheques.

Any person who, with intent to defraud— (a) obliterates, adds to or alters the crossing on a cheque; or (b) knowingly utters a crossed cheque, the crossing on which has been obliterated, added to or altered, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

355. Making documents without authority.

Any person who, with intent to defraud or to deceive— (a) without lawful authority or excuse, makes, signs or executes, for or in the name or on account of another person, whether by procuration or otherwise, any document or writing; or

(b) knowingly utters any document or writing so made, signed or executed by another person, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

356. Demanding property upon forged testamentary instruments.

Any person who procures the delivery or payment to himself or herself or any other person of any property or money by virtue of any probate or letters of administration granted upon a forged testamentary instrument, knowing the testamentary instrument to have been forged, or upon or by virtue of any probate or letters of administration obtained by false evidence, knowing the grant to have been so obtained, commits an offence of the same kind and is liable to the same punishment as if he or she had forged the document or thing by virtue of which he or she procures the delivery or payment.

357. Purchasing forged bank or currency notes.

Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him or her, imports into Uganda or purchases or receives from any person, or has in his or her possession, a forged bank note or currency note, whether filled up or in blank, knowing it to be forged, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

358. Falsifying warrant for money payable under public authority.

Any person who, being employed in the public service, knowingly and with intent to defraud makes out or delivers to any person a warrant for the payment of any money payable by public authority, for a greater or less amount than that to which the person on whose behalf the warrant is made out is entitled, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

359. Falsification of register.

Any person who, having the actual custody of any register or record kept by lawful authority, knowingly permits any entry, which in any material particular is to his or her knowledge false, to be made in the register or record, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

360. Sending false certificate of marriage to registrar.

Any person who signs or transmits to a person authorised by law to register marriages, a certificate of marriage, or any document purporting to be a certificate of marriage, which in any material particular is to his or her knowledge false, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

361. False statements for registers of births, deaths and marriages.

Any person who knowingly and with intent to procure the same to be inserted in a register of births, deaths or marriages makes any false statement touching any matter required by law to be registered in any such register, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years