By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda Updated at 1423 EAT on Thursday 10 July 2025

The Supreme Court has acquitted Moses Kabareebe, a landlord who had been serving a 10-year prison sentence for allegedly raping the maid of one of his tenants in Kyebando, a suburb of Kampala.

A panel of five justices — Percy Night Tuhaise, Stephen Musota, Christopher Izama Madrama, Catherine Bamugemereire, and Monica Mugenyi — unanimously overturned the conviction, citing major inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case. The court found that these discrepancies raised serious doubts about the non-consensual nature of the alleged sexual encounter.

Kabareebe had been convicted by the High Court in 2021 and had already served five years in Luzira Prison before the Supreme Court ordered his immediate release.

At the heart of the acquittal was conflicting testimony from the complainant, which the court found undermined the credibility of the prosecution’s version of events.

Initially, the complainant testified that she had never had sexual intercourse with anyone other than Kabareebe and denied having any children. However, during cross-examination in December 2020, she admitted to having a five-month-old baby, suggesting she conceived two months before the alleged rape occurred.

A subsequent DNA test confirmed that Kabareebe was not the biological father of the child. The court found that this critical inconsistency, combined with the complainant’s claim that Kabareebe had urged her to hide the existence of the baby, significantly undermined the credibility of her testimony.

The justices also noted continued communication between the maid and Kabareebe after his arrest. Court records indicated that Kabareebe had allegedly asked her not to abort the pregnancy — behavior the court deemed inconsistent with that of a typical rape victim. These elements, the panel concluded, raised reasonable doubt about the prosecution’s case.

“Such conduct is not consistent with that of a person who has been raped and raises serious doubt as to whether the act was truly non-consensual,” the justices wrote in their ruling.

The court went on to fault the police investigation, highlighting the failure to conduct a crime scene reconstruction as a significant oversight. It also pointed to procedural flaws during the trial, notably the admission of a medical report without proper authentication, which the panel ruled had compromised Kabareebe’s right to a fair trial.

Claims that Kabareebe had used a firearm to coerce the maid were also rejected. The court noted that no weapon was recovered, and evidence showed that Kabareebe had surrendered his licensed firearm to military authorities before the alleged assault took place.

The justices concluded that the inconsistencies in the complainant’s account—some of which they described as possible “deliberate falsehoods“—were substantial enough to discredit the entire prosecution case.

They reaffirmed the cornerstone of criminal law: that where reasonable doubt exists, it must be resolved in favor of the accused. As a result, Kabareebe’s conviction and 10-year sentence, previously upheld by Court of Appeal Justices Richard Buteera (then Deputy Chief Justice), Elizabeth Musoke, and Cheborion Barishaki, were set aside.

The Supreme Court ordered Kabareebe’s immediate release, unless he is being lawfully detained on unrelated charges.

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