Judges cautioned against misuse of plea bargain

The Principal Judge, Jane Frances Abodo, has cautioned judicial officers against misusing plea bargain, stressing that the mechanism must never be turned into a shortcut for clearing case backlogs at the expense of justice.

Plea bargain is the process between an accused person and the prosecution in which the accused person agrees to plead guilty for a lesser punishment.

Abodo sounded the warning while presiding over a one-day training for judicial officers from Western region on the plea-bargain techniques at the Judicial Training Institution (JTI) headquarters in Nakawa, Kampala, on Wednesday October 14, 2026.

“Plea bargain was designed for those who say they committed the offences they are charged with. It is not meant for suspects, who have spent too long on remand waiting for trial. So, if the suspect tells you that he or she never committed the offence but wants to enter into plea bargain, reject it,” Abodo said.

Her warning comes amid long-standing concerns about congested prisons and delayed hearings, which leave many accused persons in detention for years without their cases being heard. 

As of March 30, this year, the prison population was 79,340 inmates, of which 42,340 are convicts, while 37,000 are remand prisoners, according to Samuel Makena, the deputy commissioner general of prisons. On the other hand, the judiciary is currently battling with more than 167,353 cases, of which over 40,000 cases are categorised as backlog.

While some of the accused persons may feel pressured to accept a plea bargain deal not because they committed the offences, but because it offers the quickest route to freedom, Abodo urged judicial officers to ensure that only plea bargain deals of those who voluntarily plead guilty are entertained.

Abodo said entertaining plea bargain deals of those who never committed the offences defeats the very purpose of the mechanism.

“A person who is innocent but pleads guilty to escape prolonged detention has in effect been punished before being tried,” Abodo noted.

Abodo urged the judicial officers to acquaint themselves with rule 12 of the plea bargain rules, which requires courts to be satisfied that an accused person is entering the agreement voluntarily and with full understanding of its consequences.

She noted that the rule also places a duty on judicial officers to guard against coercion, misunderstanding and any arrangement that undermines the accused’s rights.

Abodo further stressed that long stays on remand should be addressed through speedy trials, bail where appropriate, and better case management and not through plea bargain deals.

“We must ensure that every plea bargain deal reflects genuine admission of guilt, freely given and that no accused person is forced to surrender their innocence for the sake of their liberty,” Abodo said.

Abodo also urged judicial officers to keep the record of the proceedings to minimise on the appeals arising from the plea-bargain processes.  

“By nature, a plea bargain is institutionalised corruption. Therefore, you must keep the records and ensure that the accused persons understand the consequences of entering into a plea bargain deal,” Abodo said.

In a key note address, High Court judge Jane Okuo Kajuga appealed to the judicial officers to ensure that the facts of the case speak to the ingredients of the offence to which the accused is pleading guilty to deter an appeal.

Prof. Andrew Khaukha, the executive director of the judicial training institute, said the trainings are aimed at equipping judicial officers with the required skills to speed up justice in a fair and efficient manner.