The Court of Appeal has directed the Principal Judge Flavian Zeija, as Head of the High Court, to carry out a thorough investigation and take disciplinary action against those individuals responsible for the disappearance of a Court record in which one Wilson Mugisha was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment.

The issue arose after Mugisha failed to appeal his sentence due to the missing case file.

The trial record of the High court at Kampala Criminal Division, case number 43 of 2008 is the one that went missing on 2nd November 2010. This was after the trial Judge, J Byabakama delivered found Mugisha Wilson guilty of murder and sentenced him to 50years.

Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Catherine Bamugemereire and Remmy Kasule of the Court of Appeal have expressed their disappointment at the fact that all the Court Proceedings of the trial, in this case, went missing without a trace.

“There must be an evil hand of Corruption behind this,” they said.

The Justices have accordingly set aside the conviction and sentence of 50-years for the offence of murder and ordered for a retrial before the High court for the same offence.

Mugisha who had served 10 of the 50years sentence passed against him is to remain in prison custody pending reinstitution of the retrial proceedings.

Their Lordships also directed that their judgement be copied on all the registrars throughout the country. They asked that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) take steps to ensure the retrial of the appellant takes place as quickly as possible.

The Justices' directive follows a petition to the Court of Appeal by Mugisha through his Lawyer Brian Bwogi, indicating that he, as a convict, applied to the High court Criminal Division in Kampala to be availed the record of court proceedings and judgement; but without success.

He then asked the Court of Appeal to set him free on the fact that the trial Court occasioned him a miscarriage of justice when it failed to avail him of the said record hence denying him his right of appeal under a fair trial.

However, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution(ODPP), represented by Sharifah Nalwanga objected to Mugisha's release from prison custody.

"The loss of the trial court record does not take away the fact that the appellant currently is not presumed innocent, and the fact that he has served only 10years of the sentence," Nalwanga argued.

Their Lordships agreed with Nalwanga. This, therefore, is a matter that requires a re-trial as opposed to setting the appellant Mugisha Wilson free.