48-hour rule on detaining  suspects should stay, says Mao

Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao has said the 48-hour constitutional rule in which to take a suspect to court or be released on bond should be maintained.

Minister Mao argued that personal liberties are very important and that it is not correct to amend the law and extend the 48-hour holding period for suspects.

“...If you assess that the evidence is not enough on the file, then release the person to go home, after all, the State has a very long arm,” he said while officiating at the 28th joint Government of Uganda-Development Partners Access to Justice (JLOS) report launch on Friday in Kampala.

He added: “It can even collect you (the suspect) after releasing you. The State is so powerful, it can get you any time, if it wants anyway.”

The caution by the minister comes amid calls in prosecution and security circles to have the 48-hour rule amended upwards.

Their core argument is that the period is too short to gather sufficient evidence against a suspect, especially those facing capital offences, and secure a conviction in court.

While speaking at the East Africa Association of Prosecutors (EAAP) meeting early this year, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo reasoned that the 48-hour rule was introduced in the Constitution in 1995, about 28 years ago, and that crime has since evolved.

“You cannot say that within 48 hours, you can be able to actually do a meaningful investigation of a terrorism case and have someone in court; otherwise we shall not have anyone in court…,” she said.

In April 2015 during the funeral service for slain prosecutor Joan Kagezi at St Luke’s Church of Uganda in Ntinda, then Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura said the legal requirement for suspects to be presented before courts of law within 48 hours was not practicable.

“If I cannot have enough time to investigate a case... however articulate you are, if you do not have the evidence on file, you will not succeed in convincing the judge...It will always be in favour of the accused. We need to be given enough time,” he said.

JLOS is composed of 18 government institutions that provide justice in the country. They include the police, prisons, Judiciary, DPP, the Law Development Centre, Justice ministry, Internal Affairs ministry and the Uganda Law Reform Commission.

Other findings of the JLOS report showed that the prison congestion population had doubled from 35,564 in Financial Year 2013/14 to 73,722 prisoners in 2022/23.

“This may be addressed partly through expanding carrying capacity and crime prevention measures, in addition to focusing on alternative modes of punishment away from the traditional incarceration…,”reads in part the report.