Articles
& News
February 3, 2009
60% Ugandan prisoners in jail for three
years without trial
By Mary Karugaba
A total of 16,800 prisoners have spent over three years on remand
without trial, MPs have heard.
This accounts for 56% of the 30,000 prisoners in different prisons
in the country.
The commissioner for Prisons, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, told the
committee on legal and parliamentary affairs yesterday that this was
due to slow disposal of cases by courts.
He added that the population in prisons has been increasing by 10%
per year.
Byabashaija appeared before the committee to answer queries raised
by the Human Rights Commission in their reports to Parliament of
1999 to 2007.
The commission noted that during their inspection of prisons, the
majority of inmates were still on remand.
The reports said some inmates had spent years without the Government
determining their innocence or guilt.
�In some prisons, people who were committed for trial in 2000 are
still awaiting trial. The situation is compounded by perpetual
absence of magistrates and judges in some areas, especially in
conflict-affected districts,� the commission noted in its 2007
report to Parliament.
In Moroto Prison, the commission found 57 inmates who had stayed
long on remand. They were arrested by the UPDF on suspicion that
they had illegal arms.
�They were charged before the division court martial, but remanded
to Moroto Prison because of lack of space in the military barracks,�
the report stated.
The commission also attributed the situation to lack of funds to
facilitate frequent criminal sessions.
Byabashaija said the Prisons� authority plans to continue with
renovations and construct new prisons to reduce congestion.
He revealed that the authority also plans to construct new prisons
in Nakasongola district and at least two every financial year.
Byabashaija added that through the Justice Sector, they had embarked
on training and professionalising prison warders to check the
problem of abuse.
This article can be found on-line at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/670157
