Uganda v 53
I mentioned back in one of my first blog posts Naveen and I's trip to Luzira prison to interview treason suspects, and I thought an update on their case was necessary as Naveen and I have become extremely attached to the men (and 2 women!). As a refresher, these 53 men were rounded up in late February of this year by CMI (the intellegence agency in UG), tortured, and then taken to the police station a month later. All were charged in court on March 23 and they have been on remand at Luzira since then.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem that this type of case is all too unusual. Naveen and I went back to interview a large portion of the men a second time to find out more details about their 'kidnapping' as quite a few were all arrested at the same bus park in Kampala. While we were at Luzira, we found another 8 who had been there since last summer! with basically the same story!
Today Naveen and I visited court for the third time with the treason suspects. The court system in Uganda is extremely frustrating. Capital offences, of which treason is one, can only be tried at the High Court level. But to get to the High Court you need to be 'committed' by a magistrate at the Magistrate level - basically getting the go ahead from them. In the case of the treason suspects, this system is effectively used as a delaying tactic - to hold people whom they have no evidence against for a long period of time. This meant that the first two times we went to court the prosecution just gets up and says 'investigations are still on going', and the magistrate says 'ok' and puts the men back in remand.
Only a handful of the men have been able to get bail as the court required cash bail and most are poor and can't raise the sureties needed. There is actually a Canadian citizen, Charles, who couldn't get bail because he hasn't had access to the $500 USD needed to bribe the doctor to write a note saying his medical condition is real (because all of his bank cards were taken by CMI and not returned). Naveen has been working really hard (ie bothering the crap out of) with the Canadian vice-counsel to try and get his medication and bail money - but the vice counsel seems fairly useless. I'm not sure whether it is the bureacracy of it all or just a genuine lack of concern - but the lack of action taken to get a Canadian citizen out of jail is pretty disconcerting. In the meantime the rest of men, including Charles, remain in prison.
Today's visit was slightly different because the main lawyer, as opposed to the one from FHRI who is just helping out on the case, actually showed up! Naveen and I hope that his other missed court dates are due to his knowledge that nothing would really happen at the first two. Additionally, as of July 24th the 53 suspects had been on remand for over 120 days which meant the lawyers might make some headway on the case. As per the Ugandan Constitution, an individual cannot be held on remand for longer than 120 days. So after 120 days that individual should be granted mandatory bail. To do otherwise is unconstitutional - and since the Constitution is the supreme law in Uganda, one would expect a member of the judicial system to uphold it.
Buuut since we are in Uganda and the rule of law is only implemented when it benefits the NRM, the magistrate further remanded the inmates despite the lawyer's protests. Naveen and I knew that this is probably what was going to happen, but there was still that glimmer of hope that was completely wiped out by the magistrate and the bullshit of the state prosecutor. I felt crushed.
This was the last time we got to see these men. We went round back to talk to them through the bars of court house and having to tell Charles that we were going home was one of the worst things I have had to do. The main contact that the men have had in this case has been Naveen and I. I like to think that at the very least we give them moral support by showing up at court each time, but neither of us will be there on August 17th when they come back again. Instead I'll be (hopefully) taking pictures of gorillas - and feeling very guilty.
The entire situation has been pretty frustrating, albeit eye opening. It also makes me thankful for what I have back home.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem that this type of case is all too unusual. Naveen and I went back to interview a large portion of the men a second time to find out more details about their 'kidnapping' as quite a few were all arrested at the same bus park in Kampala. While we were at Luzira, we found another 8 who had been there since last summer! with basically the same story!
Today Naveen and I visited court for the third time with the treason suspects. The court system in Uganda is extremely frustrating. Capital offences, of which treason is one, can only be tried at the High Court level. But to get to the High Court you need to be 'committed' by a magistrate at the Magistrate level - basically getting the go ahead from them. In the case of the treason suspects, this system is effectively used as a delaying tactic - to hold people whom they have no evidence against for a long period of time. This meant that the first two times we went to court the prosecution just gets up and says 'investigations are still on going', and the magistrate says 'ok' and puts the men back in remand.
Only a handful of the men have been able to get bail as the court required cash bail and most are poor and can't raise the sureties needed. There is actually a Canadian citizen, Charles, who couldn't get bail because he hasn't had access to the $500 USD needed to bribe the doctor to write a note saying his medical condition is real (because all of his bank cards were taken by CMI and not returned). Naveen has been working really hard (ie bothering the crap out of) with the Canadian vice-counsel to try and get his medication and bail money - but the vice counsel seems fairly useless. I'm not sure whether it is the bureacracy of it all or just a genuine lack of concern - but the lack of action taken to get a Canadian citizen out of jail is pretty disconcerting. In the meantime the rest of men, including Charles, remain in prison.
Today's visit was slightly different because the main lawyer, as opposed to the one from FHRI who is just helping out on the case, actually showed up! Naveen and I hope that his other missed court dates are due to his knowledge that nothing would really happen at the first two. Additionally, as of July 24th the 53 suspects had been on remand for over 120 days which meant the lawyers might make some headway on the case. As per the Ugandan Constitution, an individual cannot be held on remand for longer than 120 days. So after 120 days that individual should be granted mandatory bail. To do otherwise is unconstitutional - and since the Constitution is the supreme law in Uganda, one would expect a member of the judicial system to uphold it.
Buuut since we are in Uganda and the rule of law is only implemented when it benefits the NRM, the magistrate further remanded the inmates despite the lawyer's protests. Naveen and I knew that this is probably what was going to happen, but there was still that glimmer of hope that was completely wiped out by the magistrate and the bullshit of the state prosecutor. I felt crushed.
This was the last time we got to see these men. We went round back to talk to them through the bars of court house and having to tell Charles that we were going home was one of the worst things I have had to do. The main contact that the men have had in this case has been Naveen and I. I like to think that at the very least we give them moral support by showing up at court each time, but neither of us will be there on August 17th when they come back again. Instead I'll be (hopefully) taking pictures of gorillas - and feeling very guilty.
The entire situation has been pretty frustrating, albeit eye opening. It also makes me thankful for what I have back home.
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