Hon. Justice Dr. Bamwine launching the Plea Bargaining Program at Malukhu Prison
The Judiciary launched the\r\nPlea Bargaining program in Mbale. The program seeks to decongest the prisons in\r\nthe country as a whole. Recent reports suggest Uganda has more than 38,000\r\nprisoners instead of the recommended 15,000, which makes its prisons the most\r\ncongested in the region.
Plea-Bargaining is an\r\nalternative dispute resolution mechanism with great potential to improve on the\r\nlandscape of criminal justice in Uganda.
The program was launched by the\r\nHon. Principal\r\nJudge, Hon. Justice Dr. Yorokamu Bamwine alongside the Director\r\nof Public Prosecutions, Hon. Justice Mike Chibita, at Malukhu Prison in\r\nMbale.
Under plea-bargaining, a\r\ncriminal suspect agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge, in return for\r\neither a lenient penalty or some deal from the prosecutor.
According to Hon. Justice Dr.\r\nBamwine, the programme was instituted apparently to reduce on the case backlog\r\nand at the same time it has promotes reconciliation between the victims and\r\naccused persons.
Hon. Justice Dr. Bamwine noted\r\nwith concern that majority Ugandans don’t want to admit their wrongs. ‘‘When\r\nyou admit your wrong, the truth will set you free. God hates lies. Don’t chock\r\non a lie that you never killed someone when you know you did. Admit and say\r\nsorry. Approach the one you wronged and say sorry.’’ said the Principal\r\nJudge.
He called on prisoners under Plea-Bargaining to take up a\r\nnew and reformed life. ‘‘Don’t commit another offense. You won’t be eligible.’’
The Judiciary plans to hold 70 criminal sessions to clear\r\n2,800 cases this financial year. Two criminal sessions are planned at Mbale\r\nPrison before the end of the year .These will be in addition to over 100\r\ninmates who want to plead guilty.
Hon. Justice Dr. Bamwine called\r\non his colleagues to always deduct periods that convicts spend on remand adding\r\nthat Judges must also respect the sentences that have been bargained.
Prisoners Opposed to Plea bargain
Recently, Hon. Justice Dr.\r\nBamwine visited Kigo prison, several prisoners protested against plea\r\nbargain. The inmates claim the scheme has left many of their colleagues\r\n"crying” after being sentenced to long-term punishments contrary to what had\r\nbeen agreed.
The inmates said there are people who agreed to 10 years sentence\r\nended up sentenced to 20 years. Other inmates said they were taken to court and\r\nsentenced without agreeing to anything with prosecutors and others were\r\nsentenced even when they had opted out of plea-bargaining. Hon. Justice Dr. Bamwine told the Mbale prisoners that\r\nseverity of sentence after a plea-Bargaining also depends on the conduct of\r\nprisoner. ‘‘When you kill a human being, don’t think you have just\r\nkilled a rat. Don’t expect a light sentence in court, even under\r\nPlea-Bargaining.’’ he said.
Posted 7th, September 2016
