Uganda’s laws are very clear. One is innocent until proven guilty. This is under common law that originates from Britain as opposed to the French system of civil law where one is guilty until proven innocent.
In common law, the judge is not involved in the investigations, but passes judgement based on facts that are presented in court based on precedence or previous cases.
I give this background based on the incidences that have taken place in the recent past and have spilled over to our institutions like Uganda Management Institute.
Sometime in the month of November, about six students were picked from class, handcuffed and led away like they had already been produced before court, convicted and sentenced. The scene at the institution was so appalling that onlookers could have concluded that these were terror suspects.
The victims of this operation were National Agricultural Advisory services officials (who are students at Uganda Management Institute), but were accused of mismanagement of funds meant for agricultural improvement.
This article is not meant to legitimise abuse of office nor is it meant to give a cushion for government officials that are students of Uganda Management Institute to have a fallback position when they have wronged this nation.
In fact, I write this piece with bitterness against those that rob this country on a daily basis. I write with the hope that one day they will be held accountable.
However, two wrongs do not make a right. I believe that we ought to treat the accused with the dignity they deserve and give them a fair hearing. This is the dignity our forefathers sought when we adopted the common law system, where you are innocent until proven guilty.
I would love to see victims of corruption tried with the dignity they deserve and if found guilty, may the full wrath of the law be unleashed on them. I would propose that their personal property be attached and sold, then they be thrown in prison for the rest of their lives and the keys thrown away forever.
This will go a long way in strengthening our judicial system, because people will know that no bad deed goes unpunished.
However, this will only work when the culprits are treated with the respect they deserve so that the ethical principals in our legal system are not abused.
The writer is the student representative, Uganda Management Institute Council
