JUDICIARY Latest Features

More\r\nthan 80 offenders at Masindi government prison have applied to benefit from the\r\nPlea Bargaining programme which was launched at Masindi high court circuit on April\r\n26,2016.  A plea\r\nbargain is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor\r\nand defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a\r\nparticular charge in return for a lenient sentence.

\r\nThe applicants, both male and female, are on remand for both capital and petty\r\noffences.  The Judiciary introduced Plea Bargaining\r\nin 2014 with the aim of reducing case
\r\nbacklog and decongesting prisons throughout the country.

Breakdown
\r\nMasindi government prison has 1,261 inmates including 320\r\nconvicts, 933 on remand, four lodgers and four debtors. Of these, 269\r\n(including 27 women) have been committed to the High Court for murder, while 75\r\nare on remand of defilement and 265 for robbery. Sixty six inmates are\r\ncommitted for rape.
\r\nSpeaking at the launch of the Plea Bargaining at Masindi government prison, the\r\nacting officer in charge Masindi prison,Mr. Amon Atwine said that the facility is\r\novercrowded because of the increasing number of inmates. He said the prison’s\r\ncapacity is to handle 366 inmates but the number has more than tripled. According to Mr. Atwine, by international standards, the staffing ratio is 1:5\r\ninmates but at Masindi prison, the ratio is 1:12. He attributed the problem to\r\nfew judicial officers, who delay to dispose of cases, limited funding and few\r\nhigh court sessions. He said case backlog stands at 18 for 2011, 87 in 2013 and 187 in 2013.
\r\nIn their memorandum which was presented in form of a song, female inmates\r\nexpressed concern over long stay on remand.
\r\nThe Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr. Yorokamu Bamwine in his speech advised\r\njudicial officers at Masindi High Court circuit to adopt a system of first in\r\nfirst out if they are to reduce the case backlog. Justice Bamwine further\r\ncautioned prisons authorities and court officials to ensure that debtors are\r\nnot put in jail because they are not criminals.
\r\n"They should be allowed to sell their property and pay…Please don’t ask for\r\nimprisonment when there are other options, next time I should not find debtors\r\nin prison,” he said.
\r\nThe director of public prosecution (DPP) Hon. Justice Mike Chibita cautioned\r\ninmates against being influenced to Plea Bargain.
\r\n"Nobody should force you to enter a Plea Bargain, it is a voluntary exercise,’\r\nhe said. Hon. Justice Chibita advised inmates to learn skills which will help them when\r\nthey get out of prison.
\r\nThe resident judge, Masindi High Court Circuit, Hon. Justice Albert Rugadya Atwooki\r\nappealed to the Principal Judge to create another high court circuit in Hoima to\r\nhelp reduce case backlog. He said that the current circuit covers Kiryandongo,\r\nMasindi, Hoima, Buliisa, Kiboga and Kibaale which he said is a large\r\ngeographical scope. Hon. Justice Rugadya attributed the high crime rate in the area to the\r\nmultiplicity of tribes as well as land disputes, sugarcane growing andoil.

Statistics

Between 2014 and December 2015, 2,000\r\ncases had been plea bargained. Ordinarily, these cases would have taken about\r\nfive years to be resolved.