Late last year, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda reiterated his proposal to abolish court bail and police bond for murder suspects and other capital offenders, calling it “nonsense” and undercutting efforts to combat such crimes. He packaged the agenda as justice for the victims and bail as a provocative element that interferes with security investigations. However, the move is contrary to the law and would negatively interfere with the justice system, which will lead to more abuse of fundamental human rights.
Doing away with the right to bail means that the accused is guilty without a trial. The origin of bail follows the legal principle enshrined under Article 28 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, which states that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. The move by President Museveni shows he either has a limited understanding of criminal law or deliberately chooses to ignore the tenets upon which it is founded. The right to bail moves hand in hand with the presumption of innocence…..
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