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Suspects rotting in cells without trial, says report
Inmates at Katojo Prison in Kabarole District. Most prisons countrywide are congested because of spending long time on remand. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The report, “Protecting constitutional and procedural rights of pre-trial detainees through access to justice in Uganda”, was conducted in nine months of 2021 by interviewing 613 suspects.
A report by human right activists under their umbrella of Advocates Sans Frontiers (ASF) has revealed that 58 percent of suspects spend more than 216 hours (nine days) in detention without trial.
The report, which was released yesterday, shows that the 48-hour rule is not complied with in police and prisons.
The report, “Protecting constitutional and procedural rights of pre-trial detainees through access to justice in Uganda”, was conducted in nine months of 2021 by interviewing 613 suspects.
These were 477 men and 136 female suspects from six districts of Arua, Gulu, Masindi, Kitgum, Kampala and Wakiso in 12 prisons.
“Only 253 (about 42 percent) of the 613 inmates, who were interviewed, had spent less than six months on remand. The rest had spent between six months and one year,” the report reads in part.
It added: “A total of 64 percent knew about their rights to apply for bail but due to limited level of education and low income, many were unable to hire the services of private lawyers.”
Mr Rashid Bunya, the project coordinator of ASF, said: “Of the men interviewed, about 40 percent had Universal Primary Education and 37 percent had no qualifications. On the other hand, 41 percent of women interviewed had no qualification and 38 percent had Primary Leaving Examinations qualifications.”
He added: “Against this background, most of the prison inmates had very limited levels of education and engaged mainly in informal employment. Access to legal services is out of their reach.”
He added that provision of legal aid in prisons visited does not cover most of the prisoners and tends to focus on the most vulnerable such as refugees.
“Only 33 out 613 inmates interviewed were able to hire the services of a private lawyer. A few others were helped by pro bono services,” he said.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission chairperson, Ms Mariam Wangadya, said there is need to expedite the passing of Legal Aid Bill to enable easy access to the lawyers.
“Some people who have overstayed on remand are left with no option but to accept plea-bargaining as a last resort,” she said.
She added that it is very dangerous because pleading guilty to an offence you have not committed is contrary to constitutional guarantees and conviction records remain bad on that person forever.
However, the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesperson, Mr Luke Owoyesigire, said as police, they have not yet received the report and that they are not aware of that percentage.
“The suspects who spend more than 48 hours in our custody are those on allegations of capital offences such as murder because we have to do thorough investigations before trials,” he said.
