Published on 16 February 2009
It was with a mixture of shock, consternation, dismay and surprise that I read the article in the Sunday monitor attributed to Hon. Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga that he advocates that parliament passes a law extending the period within which suspects are supposed to be produced in court from the current constitutional provision of 48 hours to 90 days (see, Government wants suspects held for three months, in Sunday Monitor, 15th February 2009). Dr. Kiyonga argues that this would give ample time for investigations to be thoroughly carried out contrary to the 48 hours which are restrictive a situation that has left criminals including terrorists go off the hook. I am diametrically opposed to Hon Kiyonga’s alibi and I am worried if parliament revises the law to accommodate his wishes, our country will sink deep into the mire of despotism. I am worried that instead of consolidating a democratic culture whereby human rights observance is of a paramount importance, we are busy and proudly moving into democratic reversals. Paradoxically, point number one of the NRM ten point programme was restoration of democracy. There’s never a democracy devoid of respect for human rights. Indubitably, Dr Kiyonga’s proposal is a travesty of democracy and an affront on human rights which the NRM has over the years vowed to protect and promote.
Dr. Kiyonga reportedly invoked Britain which now incarcerated suspects up to twenty eight days without trial after the 2006 amendment of the law. Who says Britain is a champion of democracy and human rights when they subjugated Africa for more than seventy years and a century in some countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa? From Britain, we can only borrow the right and not their wrongs. Our constitution has been overly desecrated for egotistic reasons of particular individuals and hence, I feel it should not further be subjected to desecration for the consequence is not going to be palatable for peace-loving Ugandans. If the constitution is ever to be amended, it should be for the common good and not for the benefit of the ruling clique. In a country where some political opponents are viewed as terrorists, who can tell whether or not such a proposed law is not aimed at frustrating legitimate opposition?
Our constitution is crystal clear, a suspect is presumed innocent until he/she is proved guilty before a competent court or tribunal or until he/she pleads guilty. Accordingly, it is not only awful but also inhuman and degrading to subject an innocent person to pre-trial detention for ninety days. At best, this would be torture and it is possible that the suspect may plead guilty because of the unbearable suffering he/she is subjected to before trial. I wish Dr Kiyonga was acquainted with the jail conditions in Uganda. Those of us who have been there can tell you frankly that the situation is dreadful and nasty. The framers of the 1995 constitution in their wise judgement knew quite well that detention of a suspect for more than forty eight hours without trial was inhuman and degrading and that’s why they adopted a forty eight hour period. Hon Kiyonga’s views are strange, weird and bizarre. They are morally repugnant, politically imprudent and legally unjustifiable. They have no place in a demonstrably democratic society.
The situation in the Uganda cells especially the police cells which I am privy to are sordid, horrible and disgusting. Torture of the suspects is the order of the day and I speak from personal experience for I am a victim of torture by the police. From the foregoing, one is left wondering that the Minister of Defence is calling for a law that can subject suspects to torture for up to three months. True, there are suspects who are held for up to three months, but it doesn’t have to be legalized. It is a cardinal principle of natural justice that justice delayed is justice denied. We must crave a society that cherishes the rule of law; where no one is above the law, not even the king or the elected president. There must be fair and speedy trial and I think this is the spirit behind the writ of habeas corpus. Habeas corpus literally means that produce the body and in the constitutional context it means that once one is a suspect they should be produced in court and tried. This process should be fair and fast and this is the due process of the law. I am worried that our government wants to deviate and divert from the rule of law and the due process of the law. incidentally, the right to a fair hearing, the writ of habeas corpus and freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are three of the four nonderogable rights enshrined in Article 44 of our constitution the fourth one being freedom from slavery and servitude. Should we have this law in place (God forbid) all the three mentioned nonderogable rights will be infringed by this law. Some of us are even worried that Hon Kiyonga fell short of calling for detention without trial as a means of curbing the terrorist threat never mind whether it is real or imaginary or perceived.
The golden rule of morality says, “Do to others as you would want them do to you” (Luke 6:31). Like the Uganda Prisoners’ Aid Foundation (UPAF) motto says, “We are all potential prisoners”. Should this law be passed, it may stay for long and live to catch up with those who made it. I doubt whether Comrade Kiyonga would appreciate the condition to which he wants others subjected in case one day he is a suspect. Dear Members of Parliament, the writing is on the wall. You can choose to build or destroy; to heal or to would. For whatever choice, history will be a good judge.
Vincent Nuwagaba is a human rights defender.
vnuwagaba@gmail.com/ +256772843552
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