JUDICIARY Latest Features

KABALE –\r\nPlea Bargaining, one of the mechanisms used to fight congestion in prisons and\r\nreduction of case backlog, has now reached the 11^th of the 13 High\r\nCourt Circuits of Uganda.

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The\r\ninitiative, in which accused persons are given an opportunity to plead guilty\r\nto criminal charge to save court’s offences in exchange for lenient sentences,\r\nwas on August 25, 2015 launched at Ndorwa Prison, Kabale.

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Over\r\n1,000 criminal cases have successfully been executed in the past 14 months of\r\nthe launch of Plea Bargaining in Uganda, saving UShs700 million taxpayers’\r\nmoney that would have ordinarily been spent handling the cases under the\r\nconventional trial method. Normal trials ordinarily cost the Judiciary UShs1\r\nmillion, but a case handled under Plea Bargaining costs only 30 per cent (about\r\nUShs300, 000) of that budget.

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Piloted\r\nin the Nakawa High Court Circuit in June 2014, Plea Bargaining has since been\r\nextended to the Circuits of Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara, Masaka, Gulu, Lira,\r\nSoroti, Mbale, Fort Portal and now Kabale. It is expected to reach the Masindi\r\nand Arua Circuits by the end of September this year.

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While\r\npresiding of the launch in Kabale, the Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr\r\nYorokamu Bamwine said prisons are faced with record high admissions of in-mates\r\n– almost eight times their built capacity. It was also noted that the number of\r\nremand prisoners outweigh that of convicts serving their sentences.

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Majority\r\nof the inmates at Ndorwa Prison complained about their cases not being\r\ncause-listed. There were inmates that have been on remand – awaiting trial for\r\nthe last five years.

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At\r\nthe close of June 2015, 8,999 criminal cases had been committed to the High\r\nCourt for trial – 401 originated from Kabale, and another 722 from Fort Portal.

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Hon.\r\nJustice Bamwine said the task of the Judiciary is to give happiness to the\r\npeople and initiatives such as plea bargaining are steps in the right\r\ndirection.

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The\r\nKabale Resident Judge, Hon. Justice Michael Elubu, said one of the hiccups they\r\ngrapple with is lack of counsel since there are only six resident advocates in\r\nthe district.

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"I\r\nlook forward to a time when cases are plea-bargained immediately after arrest,”\r\nhe said, adding that there is an urgent need to sensitize all stakeholders on the\r\nwhole process.

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During\r\nan interaction with inmates at Ndorwa prisons, one of them wanted to know why\r\njudicial officers hand convicts harsh sentences. Hon. Justice Bamwine clarified\r\nthat all sentences handed are now based on Sentencing Guidelines. He however advised\r\naccused persons to Plea Bargain since the sentence is predictable.

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Hon.\r\nJustice Bamwine also cautioned state attorneys that plea bargains should not be\r\ngiven out at the expense of justice. "If we start imposing sentences which are\r\nlaughable, then we will fail the whole process,” he said.

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He\r\nurged judicial officers to give due regard to time and case management,\r\ncustomer care and hospitality, corruption and dishonesty, and backlog\r\nreduction.

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How to Plea Bargain

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·        \r\nThe process starts with sensitization of all\r\nstakeholders (Judges, Prosecutors, Police, in-mates, defense lawyers and prison\r\nofficers)

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·        \r\nBoth the prosecutor and the defense lawyer\r\nare encouraged to disclose vital information to help in appreciating the\r\nevidence in state possession as long as the disclosure serves the ends of\r\njustice.

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·        \r\nThe victims or their relatives too are\r\ninvited to enhance transparency. Pre-trial session meetings are held before a\r\nJudge to confirm the agreement between all parties – all with the Judge’s\r\nminimum participation.

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·        \r\nWorks best where sentencing guidelines are in\r\nplace and the sentence range proposed by the parties falls within those\r\nguidelines.

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