KAMPALA, Uganda
Members of Parliament subscribing to the ruling National Resistance
Movement (NRM) yesterday rejected a proposal by President Museveni, the party
national chairperson, to amend the Constitution and scrap bail for suspected
capital offenders.
At a sitting
at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, a number of legislators told Mr
Museveni that they understood that he likely meant well with his revived
proposal, but the right of a suspect to apply for bail, pending prosecution, is
a matter already settled in law.
Bail is a
fundamental right under Article 23(6) of the 1995 Constitution because any
accused person, under Article 28 of the country’s supreme law, is presumed
innocent until proven or pleads guilty.
Article 23(6)a
specifically provides that an accused person “is entitled to apply to the court
to be released on bail, and the court may grant that person bail on such
conditions as the court considers reasonable”.
Whereas the
eligibility conditions may vary, judicial officials often consider an
accused person’s health, personal and criminal record, the pedigrees of the
sureties to enforce the accused person’s attendance of court and gravity of the
offence allegedly committed.
It is these
arrangements that President Museveni is opposed to, arguing that granting
discretionary powers to courts on bail decision is a “provocation” and, without
providing statistics, said a cause of growing mob justice incidents in the
country.
“Really!
Somebody has killed a person and you see him walking around, that is a
provocation I am telling you. It’s a provocation, we can’t accept it,” the
President said on Monday at the 4th Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture at the High Court
Building in Kampala.
The memorial
lecture commemorates the legacy of Kiwanuka, whom Idi Amin tapped as Chief
Justice before their disagreement culminated in soldiers storming the temple of
justice, 49 years ago, to yank out the then head of judiciary, the last time he
was seen alive.
President Museveni
seized on the occasion on Monday to renew his decade-old demand that capital
offenders should not be eligible for bail, a proposal that legal scholars and
practitioners, among them former Supreme Court judge Justice George
Kanyeihamba, was risked to erode the rule of law and would be
counter-productive.
Following his
tough rhetoric, Mr Museveni followed through by summoning MPs in the 11th
Parliament that are members of the ruling NRM party that he chairs, to strike a
common position on the proposed.
Instead,
the legislators disagreed, according to multiple sources that attended the
meeting, prompting the President to ask the lawmakers to consult further and
reconvene to reconsider the matter in a fortnight.
First to take the floor, according colleagues who spoke on condition of
anonymity fearing reprimand by the party leadership, was Mr Yusuf Mutembuli,
the Bunyole East member of Parliament.
A lawyer, he
reportedly told President Museveni to go slow on his proposal because anyone
could become an accused person for alleged capital crimes, meaning removing the
bail safeguard could boomerang.
“The President
wants the law related to the granting of bail strengthened so that the
presiding judicial officers can apply it cognisant of its implication to the
society,” one source, who attended the meeting, said.
According to
another source, after MP Mutembuli spoke, Terego District Woman Rose Obiga,
herself a lawyer, made a passionate and assertive submission, littered with
what she called examples of miscarriage in her professional justice, which took
the audience by surprise.
She reportedly
told the President in one instance that her former landlord was arrested
when a dead body was found on his land, but for the weeks in was incarcerated,
unknown people ploughed through his land and hastily began erecting structures.
It was not
until Ms Obiga returned from a trip outside the country that she pursued
justice for the landlord as it became clear the corpse was likely dumped by
land grabbers to frame him.
Thus, sources
said, the MP invited the President to consider himself a father figure that he
is to the legislators, who she said are members of the same family, and agree
to stay the proposal to scrap bail for suspected capital offenders unless they
serve half-a-year on remand.
Ms Obiga
yesterday declined to comment on the discussions saying the deliberations were
confidential.
According to another lawmaker, who attended, they also spurned the Museveni
bail plan because they could themselves fall victim, and nonetheless sought
more time to consult their constituents.
The MP said:
“Let’s leave the abolition of bail alone. We should strengthen the judiciary
and judges so that they can hear these cases fast. Someone is innocent until
proven guilty.”
“You have seen people are implicated when they are innocent. Today is somebody
and tomorrow is you and me.
Look at the
former Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, and former Prime
Minister Amama Mbabazi, who forced some laws and they fell victim to the same.
Let us leave the (bail) status quo as it is,” the source added, in
apparent reference to the phone tapping and revision of the Anti-Terrorism
legislations.
NRM Caucus
Secretary General Lillian Aber, who doubles as Kitgum Woman MP, told Daily
Monitor that the President summoned the meeting to present his proposals on how
to manage crime in the country.
According to
her, murder rape, corruption and defilement topped Mr Museveni’s list of crimes
that the proposed constitution amendment would stem because the current
provisions, according to the President, do not handle suspected culprit well.
“He suggested
to us that as legislators who subscribe to NRM party, we [should] think of
having these issues addressed by not just giving that liberty for any criminals
to get bail after committing a crime,” she said.
The President
reportedly also argued that if a person is arrested on capital charges, rather
than free him on bail, judicial officers should leave them on remand for at
least 180 days to give time for other agencies to conclude investigations.
Ms Aber said,
contrary to what other legislators reported, there was a mixed reaction to the
proposal, which is why Mr Museveni asked for more consultations.
At the
meeting, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka reportedly argued that there was a
misleading perception among sections of the population and politicians that
bail is an automatic right, yet it is discretionary.
MP David
Kabanda (NRM; Kasambya), told Daily Monitor at Parliament that he is
opposed to the proposal to scrap bail and he will continue opposing it.
“I am a cadre
of the NRM party, but I don’t agree with some of the positions,” he said,
citing the possibility of falling victim if framed by political foes. “What if they (accusers) connive with the police
and judiciary, they frame me and I will be in prison for six months or a year because the police are
still investigating?” Mr Kabanda added.
Earlier,
Terego Woman MP Obiga had reportedly told the Kololo meeting that the justice
administration in the country was riddled with corruption and asked President
Museveni to fight it so that cases are expedited.
The Government
Chief Whip, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, said being granted a bail is not a right, but
applying for it is a right.
“So, the issue
is how the court is interpreting this. Most of them are taking it that bail is
indeed a right. So, we have to go back and see how best do we cure [this]. Do
we amend the law? Do we take it [to the Constitutional Court] for
constitutional interpretation? Do we have more judicial guidelines from the
Chief Justice over the matter?” Mr Tayebwa said.
Mr Amos Okot,
the MP Agago North County, said denying bail to suspects risks aggravating
congestion in prisons.
