Supreme Court judge blasts govt over PRA
Jan 29, 2007
SUPREME Court Judge, Justice George Kanyeihamba, has criticised the government for continuing to detain 14 People’s Redemption Army (PRA) suspects who were granted bail by the High Court.
By Cyprian Musoke,
Apollo Mubiru and Charles Ariko
SUPREME Court Judge, Justice George Kanyeihamba, has criticised the government for continuing to detain 14 People’s Redemption Army (PRA) suspects who were granted bail by the High Court.
In a 25-page paper he delivered to a Uganda Law Society workshop at Hotel Africana yesterday, the outspoken judge said he was out of the country when the court issued the orders, but was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the accounts.
“I read that the court had ordered certain PRA suspects who had been detained to be released. The order was disobeyed by the government. I asked myself what had gone wrong. There can never be any excuse to disobey court orders,†he said.
Kanyeihamba, who once served as Justice Minister and later became a presidential adviser on human rights, wondered whether the government had consulted with the Attorney General.
He said that the government could re-arrest the suspects if it felt there was another case against them, but it could not continue to hold them under the sentence for which they got bail.
“I am aware that there is other information in the hands of the security organs. They should show this information to the Attorney General, for him to prefer fresh charges in line with the rule of law,†Kanyeihamba said.
Deputy Attorney General, Freddie Ruhindi, said his boss was expected to brief Parliament on the outcome today.
Meanwhile, the prison authorities have said they never received written court orders to release the PRA suspects.
Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, the prisons chief, yesterday said the opposition and the public were criticising the department unfairly.
“We have never received any order from court to release those suspects. It is wrong to say that we are keeping them illegally in Luzira. We are not contemptuous of any court order. If we received a court order today, I can assure you that they will be released,†he said.
He also revealed that ever since the PRA suspects were granted bail by the High Court, they had not fulfilled all the conditions of their bail. He said some of the sureties who stood for the suspects had never signed the forms.
He pointed out that over 200 inmates were in Luzira Prison on orders of the General Court Martial. “But people are only talking about the PRA suspects.â€
Asked whether President Yoweri Museveni had ordered him not to release the suspects, Byabashaija denied this.
“We never get orders directly from the President about prisoners on remand. The president only has control over convicted prisoners, whom he can pardon.â€
He said the prisons department had been caught in the legal standoff between the High Court and the General Court Martial.
In a related development, the opposition Forum for Democratic Change has challenged the Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki, to resign over what the party calls ‘total breakdown’ of the rule of law and constitutionalism.
“We call on you to publicly order for the arrest of all officers who have continuously ignored orders and rulings issued by both the High Court and the Constitutional Court or honourably resign if not effected, as a demonstration that you and the entire judiciary have been ignored by the Executive†read the letter to Odoki dated January 25 and signed by the FDC secretary general Alice Alaso.
Apollo Mubiru and Charles Ariko
SUPREME Court Judge, Justice George Kanyeihamba, has criticised the government for continuing to detain 14 People’s Redemption Army (PRA) suspects who were granted bail by the High Court.
In a 25-page paper he delivered to a Uganda Law Society workshop at Hotel Africana yesterday, the outspoken judge said he was out of the country when the court issued the orders, but was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the accounts.
“I read that the court had ordered certain PRA suspects who had been detained to be released. The order was disobeyed by the government. I asked myself what had gone wrong. There can never be any excuse to disobey court orders,†he said.
Kanyeihamba, who once served as Justice Minister and later became a presidential adviser on human rights, wondered whether the government had consulted with the Attorney General.
He said that the government could re-arrest the suspects if it felt there was another case against them, but it could not continue to hold them under the sentence for which they got bail.
“I am aware that there is other information in the hands of the security organs. They should show this information to the Attorney General, for him to prefer fresh charges in line with the rule of law,†Kanyeihamba said.
Deputy Attorney General, Freddie Ruhindi, said his boss was expected to brief Parliament on the outcome today.
Meanwhile, the prison authorities have said they never received written court orders to release the PRA suspects.
Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, the prisons chief, yesterday said the opposition and the public were criticising the department unfairly.
“We have never received any order from court to release those suspects. It is wrong to say that we are keeping them illegally in Luzira. We are not contemptuous of any court order. If we received a court order today, I can assure you that they will be released,†he said.
He also revealed that ever since the PRA suspects were granted bail by the High Court, they had not fulfilled all the conditions of their bail. He said some of the sureties who stood for the suspects had never signed the forms.
He pointed out that over 200 inmates were in Luzira Prison on orders of the General Court Martial. “But people are only talking about the PRA suspects.â€
Asked whether President Yoweri Museveni had ordered him not to release the suspects, Byabashaija denied this.
“We never get orders directly from the President about prisoners on remand. The president only has control over convicted prisoners, whom he can pardon.â€
He said the prisons department had been caught in the legal standoff between the High Court and the General Court Martial.
In a related development, the opposition Forum for Democratic Change has challenged the Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki, to resign over what the party calls ‘total breakdown’ of the rule of law and constitutionalism.
“We call on you to publicly order for the arrest of all officers who have continuously ignored orders and rulings issued by both the High Court and the Constitutional Court or honourably resign if not effected, as a demonstration that you and the entire judiciary have been ignored by the Executive†read the letter to Odoki dated January 25 and signed by the FDC secretary general Alice Alaso.