By KT Reporter
The Constitutional Court has held that its unconstitutional to keep suspects on long remand periods without trial. In a lead judgement written by Justice Moses Kawumi Kazibwe, court held that the practice violates several provisions of the constitution.
“The delayed trial of the Petitioners for periods ranging from three to six years after being committed to the High Court…, could not… be called reasonable. The right to a fair hearing was further included in the category of non-derogable rights under Article 44(c) of the Constitution which points to its constitutional importance. lt is an absolute right which can only be restricted under specific conditions and which must be always respected by all state actors…It follows from the above analysis, that the delayed trial of the petitioners coupled with the long detention further amounted to a denial of their right to be presumed innocent,” Kazibwe’s judgement reads in part.
The decision emanates from a petition filed by five suspects accused of various criminal offences. The five were; Bonafacio Mulugga accused of aggravated defilement and committed to the High Court in 2009, Kyeyune Eric accused of aggravated defilement and committed to the High Court in 2011, Waiswa Lubanga accused of aggravated robbery and committed to the High Court in 2011, Muhammad Abdallah accused of murder and committed to the High Court in 2011 and Byakika Bernard accused of aggravated robbery and committed to the High Court in 2011.
The five were also joined by two nongovernmental organizations dealing in human rights protection; Centre for Public Interest Law and Chapter Four Uganda. The five petitioners who had been held between three to five years after they had been committed to the High Court for trial of their cases, in 2015, challenged their long remand periods calling them unconstitutional and a violation of their fundamental rights.
In their petition, they contended that the act of being detained for that long without trial is inconsistent with and contravenes Articles 28(1) and 44(c) of the Constitution. They also contended that the act of remanding them for that long violated their right to be presumed innocent. The petitioners also wanted the Constitutional Court to rule as unconstitutional the act of hearing of criminal cases under the session system and also the act of being detained in overcrowded prisons as contravening Articles 23, 28 and 44 of the Constitution.
In his ruling which was joined by all the four Justices, Kazibwe held that a speedy trial is a dictate of the constitution and anybody held beyond what can be called a reasonable period in inadvertently condemned before he/she is even heard. “I am satisfied that the lapse of three to six years while each of the Petitioners was waiting for trial and which was not justified by the Respondent in the Answer to the Petition was unreasonable…I further find support for this decision from the fact that the Judiciary of Uganda has for long set itself a target of 24 months within which to determine cases failure of which they are categorized as “backlog cases” which merit urgent attention.
The three to six years post-committal waiting time was thus way off the ideal target for disposal of cases based on the internally set benchmark,” Kazibwe held. He added that the criminal justice system aims to punish only those persons whose guilt has been established in a fair trialand thus, prior to a finding on liability, and as part of the fair trial procedure itself, the accused is presumed innocent. “He or she is also tried publicly so that the trial can be seen to satisfy the substantive requirements of a fair trial. The detention of the Petitioners for the long periods was akin to punishing them before their trials were entertained by the Courts…The delayed trial of the petitioners with the long detention periods after committal was inconsistent with and in contravention of Articles 28(1),28(3) and 44(c) of the Constitution,” the judge held.
The Justice however declined to issue any orders capping the time on which an accused can spend on remand before the court disposes off their cases. To do so, Kazibwe said would amount to amending the constitution which the court has no power to do.
On the issue of being held in overcrowded detention centres which are akin to inhumane and degrading treatment, the judge said, this was an issue of enforcement of rights which is reserved for the High Court under Article 50 of the Constitution. The decision was agreed to by Justices; Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Hellen Obura, Asa Mugenyi and Eva Luswata.
-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
