Attack on High Court was illegal - EA tribunal
Nov 04, 2007
THE siege by security agencies on the High Court in November 2006 violated the rule of law, the East African Court of Justice has ruled. The court also ruled that the action, which blocked 22 suspects of the People’s Redemption Army (PRA) from accessing bail contravened the East African Community
By Cyprian Musoke
THE siege by security agencies on the High Court in November 2006 violated the rule of law, the East African Court of Justice has ruled. The court also ruled that the action, which blocked 22 suspects of the People’s Redemption Army (PRA) from accessing bail contravened the East African Community Treaty.
“Wandera Ogalo (counsel for the suspects) left no stone unturned to persuade us to find that what the soldiers did breached the rule of law,†the court ruled.
“Failing to recognise a grant of bail by the Court of Appeal militates against the independence of the judiciary. We find that the independence of the judiciary, a cornerstone of the principle of the rule of law, has been violated,†they added.
“It is dangerous for the protection of human rights for the Government to operate without such checks as the judiciary can usefully perform. That is exactly what the government of Uganda through the Attorney General attempted to do. To justify the actions of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces,†the court noted.
In his defence, the Attorney General had argued that that the security agencies had received intelligence that upon release, the suspects were to be taken back into armed rebellion.
The Court ruled: “We are alarmed by the line of defence offered on behalf of the Government of Uganda, which if endorsed by this court would lead to an unacceptable and dangerous precedent, which would undermine the rule of law.â€
The court said much as the exclusive responsibility of the Government was to ensure the security, the judiciary had to provide a check on the exercise of the responsibility in order to protect the rule of law.
Presided over by Justice Moijo Mataiya, the coram consisted of Justices Joseph Mulenga, Augustino Ramadhani, Stella Arach-Amoko and Harold Nsekela.
THE siege by security agencies on the High Court in November 2006 violated the rule of law, the East African Court of Justice has ruled. The court also ruled that the action, which blocked 22 suspects of the People’s Redemption Army (PRA) from accessing bail contravened the East African Community Treaty.
“Wandera Ogalo (counsel for the suspects) left no stone unturned to persuade us to find that what the soldiers did breached the rule of law,†the court ruled.
“Failing to recognise a grant of bail by the Court of Appeal militates against the independence of the judiciary. We find that the independence of the judiciary, a cornerstone of the principle of the rule of law, has been violated,†they added.
“It is dangerous for the protection of human rights for the Government to operate without such checks as the judiciary can usefully perform. That is exactly what the government of Uganda through the Attorney General attempted to do. To justify the actions of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces,†the court noted.
In his defence, the Attorney General had argued that that the security agencies had received intelligence that upon release, the suspects were to be taken back into armed rebellion.
The Court ruled: “We are alarmed by the line of defence offered on behalf of the Government of Uganda, which if endorsed by this court would lead to an unacceptable and dangerous precedent, which would undermine the rule of law.â€
The court said much as the exclusive responsibility of the Government was to ensure the security, the judiciary had to provide a check on the exercise of the responsibility in order to protect the rule of law.
Presided over by Justice Moijo Mataiya, the coram consisted of Justices Joseph Mulenga, Augustino Ramadhani, Stella Arach-Amoko and Harold Nsekela.