There's no fixed ritual when a Ugandan judge hands down a death sentence. Some judges still break a pen to mark the finality of their decision, symbolising that the judgment is irreversible and the case is truly closed.
Others choose to stay completely calm and composed, delivering the words with quiet gravity, no drama, no gestures, just the heavy power of the sentence itself.
A lot of the dramatic traditions people talk about, like waving handkerchiefs or putting on special robes, are basically myths.
There's no legal requirement for any of it. Judicial officers say the style is left entirely to the individual judge.
In the recent Ggaba murder case, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha went with that calm approach. She simply told Christopher Okello Onyum, “I hereby sentence you to suffer death… in a manner authorised by law,” speaking in a measured tone without any symbolic acts.
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