Museveni’ ban on police bond, bail illegal, says Uganda Law Society
CAPTION: Uganda Law Society President, Isaac Ssemakadde. (Courtesy photo).
By Our reporter
KAMPALA – The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has challenged President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to police to deny bond to suspects, saying that the directive contravenes the law.
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In his end-of-the-year address to the nation on Tuesday, Museveni directed police not to free any suspected village thieves, saying that any police personnel that attempts it will be held fully accountable.
“There is rampant stealing of cattle, goats, etc., and the soft handling by the police and the courts of such criminals through giving them police bonds and court bails. I have raised the issue of bails with His Lordship the Chief Justice, and I have banned the issue of police bonds. Any police personnel that give a police bond to a village thief when the case is ready for trial will be held fully accountable,” he said.
Museveni said that releasing suspects on police bond will exacerbate crime and insecurity.
He referred to his recent trip to the Karamoja subregion, where he was informed that a total of 3,000 Karamojong Karachunas, through the mechanism of the Military Court Martial, are in different jails, saying that this explains why there is now “total peace” in Karamoja and the surrounding districts of Acholi, Lango, Teso, Bugisu, and Sebei.
Museveni accused the police, Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), and his representatives at the local governments of sleeping on the job, adding that he would activate a militia of Local Defense Units (LDUs) to provide security at local levels.
“If the concerned people do not act, I will involve the UPDF to empower all the wealth creators, farmers, etc., to guard their property by activating the vast militia of our LDUs. It will not be good for those thieves,” he said.
Museveni noted that if the Karachunas had not been handled with an iron fist, there would not be peace in Karamoja. The village thieves, he said, must be handled the same way.
In response, the Uganda Law Society said that the president is overreaching his authority.
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“The Uganda Law Society stands firmly against President Museveni’s purported directive to ban police bond and bail for individuals accused of embezzling PDM and Emyooga funds (who were improperly designated “village thieves”). This move contravenes Articles 23, 28(3)(a), and 99 of the Constitution and is a stark reminder of the colonial legacy of repression and mass incarceration that continues to plague our nation,” said the Uganda Law Society President, Isaac Ssemakadde, in a statement on Tuesday.
“Mr. President, police jail stints and prison congestion are hallmarks of colonial trauma we are committed to ending. The Radical New Bar will not stand idly by while our justice system perpetuates these injustices. We shall deal firmly with errant police officers and malicious prosecutors through Sections 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15 of the Human Rights (Enforcement) Act,” he added.
Ssemakadde called upon the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo, to “raise the bar” in pursuing corruption cases, ensuring thorough investigations before any arrest and fair, efficient, and just prosecution.
“No person should be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty due to bureaucratic incompetence and overreach. It is time to break the police-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately targets the poor, civil society activists, and the political opposition, and forge a new path that prioritizes justice, equality, and human rights.”
It is worth noting that police bond and bail are constitutional rights.
For Museveni’s directive to be lawfully applied, it requires amending the law, which is a mandate of Parliament.
Any suspect arrested and taken to a police station for breaking the law may be released until the police complete their investigations.
