Chapter 1

PRELIMINARY.

1. General rule of construction.

This Code shall be interpreted in accordance with the principles of legal interpretation obtaining in England, and expressions used in it shall be presumed, so far as is consistent with their context, and except as may be otherwise expressly provided, to be used with the meaning attaching to them in English criminal law and shall be construed in accordance therewith.

2. Interpretation.

In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires—

(a) “Code” means this Penal Code;

(b) “court” means a court of competent jurisdiction;

(d) “dwelling house” includes any building or structure or part of a building or structure which is for the time being kept by the owner or occupier for his or her residence or that of his or her family or servants or any of them, and it is immaterial that it is from time to time uninhabited; a building or structure adjacent to or occupied with a dwelling house is deemed to be part of the dwelling house if there is a communication between such building or structure and the dwelling house, either immediate or by means of a covered and enclosed passage leading from the one to the other, but not otherwise;

(e) “felony” means an offence which is declared by law to be a felony or, if not declared to be a misdemeanour, is punishable, without proof of previous conviction, with death or with imprisonment for three years or more;

(f) “grievous harm” means any harm which amounts to a maim or dangerous harm, or seriously or permanently injures health or which is likely so to injure health, or which extends to permanent disfigurement, or to any permanent or serious injury to any external or internal organ, membrane or sense;

(g) “harm” means any bodily hurt, disease or disorder whether permanent or temporary;

(h) “husband” means husband of a monogamous marriage;

(i) “judicial proceeding” includes any proceeding had or taken in or before any court, tribunal, commission of inquiry or person, in which evidence may be taken on oath;

(j) “knowingly”, used in connection with any term denoting uttering or using, implies knowledge of the character of the thing uttered or used;

(k) “local authority” means a local authority established under any written law;

(l) “maim” means the destruction or permanent disabling of any external or internal organ, membrane or sense;

(m) “Minister” means Attorney General;

(n) “misdemeanour” means any offence which is not a felony;

(o) “money” includes bank notes, bank drafts, cheques and any other orders, warrants or requests for the payment of money;

(p) “monogamous marriage” means a marriage which is by law necessarily monogamous and binding during the lifetime of both parties unless dissolved by a valid judgment of the court;

(q) “night” or “nighttime” means the interval between half-past six o’clock in the evening and half-past six o’clock in the morning;

(r) “oath” includes affirmation or declaration;

(s) “offence” is an act, attempt or omission punishable by law;

(t) “person” and “owner” and other like terms when used with reference to property include corporations of all kinds and any other association of persons capable of owning property, and also when so used include the Government;

(u) “person employed in the public service” means any person holding any of the following offices or performing the duty of the office, whether as a deputy or otherwise— (i) any civil office the power of appointing a person to which or of removing from which is vested in any person or in any public commission or board; (ii) any office to which a person is appointed or nominated by any written law; (iii) any civil office, the power of appointing to which or removing from which is vested in any person or persons holding an office of any kind included in paragraph (i) or (ii) of this definition; or (iv) any office of arbitrator or umpire in any proceeding or matter submitted to arbitration by order or with the sanction of any court, or in pursuance of any written law, and the term further includes— (v) a justice of the peace; (vi) a member of a commission of inquiry appointed under or in pursuance of any written law; (vii) any person employed to execute any process of a court; (viii) all persons belonging to the armed forces of Uganda; (ix) all persons in the employment of the Government or the administration of a district; (x) a person acting as a minister of religion of any denomination insofar as he or she performs functions in respect of the notification of intending marriage or in respect of the solemnisation of marriage or in respect of the making or keeping of any register or certificate of marriage, birth, baptism, death or burial, but not in any other respect; (xi) a person in the employ of an urban authority;

(v) “possession”, “be in possession of” or “have in possession” includes not only having in one’s own personal possession, but also having anything in the actual possession or custody of any other person, or having anything in any place (whether belonging to or occupied by oneself or not) for the use or benefit of oneself or of any other person; if there are two or more persons and any one or more of them with the knowledge and consent of the rest has or have anything in his or her or their custody or possession, it shall be deemed and taken to be in the custody and possession of each and all of them;

(w) “property” includes everything animate or inanimate capable of being the subject of ownership;

(x) “public” refers not only to all persons within Uganda, but also to the persons inhabiting or using any particular place, or any number of such persons, and also to such indeterminate persons as may happen to be affected by the conduct in respect to which that expression is used;

(y) “public body” has the meaning assigned to it under section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act;

(z) “publicly”, when applied to acts done, means either— (i) that they are so done in any public place as to be seen by any person whether such person is or is not in a public place; or (ii) that they are so done in any place not being a public place as to be likely to be seen by any person in a public place;

(aa) “public place” or “public premises” includes any public way and any building, place or conveyance to which, for the time being, the public are entitled or permitted to have access either without any condition or upon condition of making any payment, and any building or place which is for the time being used for any public or religious meetings or assembly or as an open court;

(bb) “public way” includes any highway, marketplace, square, street, bridge or other way which is lawfully used by the public;

(cc) “utter” means and includes using or dealing with and attempting to use or deal with and attempting to induce any person to use, deal with or act upon the thing in question;

(dd) “valuable security” includes any document which is the property of any person, and which is evidence of the ownership of any property or of the right to recover or receive any property;

(ee) “vehicle” includes any kind of bicycle or tricycle;

(ff) “vessel” includes a ship, a boat and every other kind of vessel used in navigation either on the sea or in inland waters, and includes aircraft;

(gg) “wife” means wife of a monogamous marriage;

(hh) “wound” means any incision or puncture which divides or pierces any exterior membrane of the body, and any membrane is exterior for the purpose of this definition which can be touched without dividing or piercing any other membrane.

3. Saving of certain laws.

Nothing in this Code shall affect— (a) the liability, trial or punishment of a person for an offence against any other written law in force in Uganda other than this Code;

(b) the liability of a person to be tried or punished for an offence under the provisions of any law in force in Uganda relating to the jurisdiction of Uganda courts in respect of acts done beyond the ordinary jurisdiction of such courts;

(d) the liability or trial of a person, or the punishment of a person under any sentence passed or to be passed, in respect of any act done or commenced before the commencement of this Code;

(e) any power of the President to grant any pardon or to remit or commute in whole or in part or to respite the execution of any sentence passed or to be passed; or

(f) any of the written laws for the time being in force for the government of the armed forces of Uganda or any police force established in Uganda, except that if a person does an act which is punishable under this Code and is also punishable under another written law of any of the kinds mentioned in this section, he or she shall not be punished for that act both under that written law and also under this Code.

Preamble Chapter2