KAMPALA – Last week, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa asked the Legislators not to hide from attending the reading of the 2024-2025 budget for fear of being arrested. He promised them that Parliament would stand by those implicated until they plead guilty or until they are found guilty by court.
These remarks were made after the arrest and subsequent detention of Paul Akamba, Cissy Namujju and Yusuf Mutembuli on allegations of having solicited a bribe from the Uganda Human Rights Commission boss Mariam Wangadya. The three were arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court and charged before being remanded to Luzira Prison.
When the matter came up on Friday, Akamba managed to secure bail while Namujju and Mutembuli were further remanded for failing to present substantial sureties. Akampa was ordered and he paid a cash bail of 13 million shillings and was released. As his family and supporters were still jubilating, some strangers clad in masks and shades joined the group, the supporters had no idea their celebrations were short lived.
Before long, a scuffle ensued just outside the premises of the Anti-Corruption Court as Paul Akamba was re-arrested like a chicken thief and bundled into a standby vehicle which speed off to some unknown destination. The family and the well-wishers were left dump founded as to who was responsible for the violent act and whether or not it was an arrest, a robbery, a kidnap or broad day abduction.
Otherwise what do you call a situation where armed strangers in plain clothes grab somebody forcefully and push him into a car without introducing themselves? What was wrong with introducing themselves to the police officers who were manning the gate? Eye witnesses say that during the scuffle, Akampa’s people were kicked and battered as they tried to obstruct the MP’s re-arrest. Fire arms were pulled out as the armed men cum kidnappers whisked the Busiki County MP and sped off.
Unless the intention was to scare Namujju and Mutembuli from pursuing their right to bail, why would civilized security organization send over 10 men to arrest just a single unarmed Member of Parliament, why didn’t they follow the formal procedure of arresting a high profile person through the office of the speaker instead of grabbing him like a fugitive?
In previous embarrassing incidents of a similar nature in November 2005, the Principal Judge of Uganda Justice James Ogoola as he then was described the attack on court premises as “a despicable act” and a “rape of the judiciary.” In retaliation of the primitive acts several international donors subsequently cut aid to the government of Uganda. Did we learn a thing?
At the pick of the hullabaloo on wanton arrests of suspects at court, the institution of the Uganda Police in the usual tone of public relations attempted to justify their actions, I can only feel sorry for Fred Enanga who has always braced himself with childish lies to defend impunity.
He said, “The public should note that, the police have powers to enter premises, to arrest a person, detain a person or execute a warrant, if they believe on reasonable grounds that the person is inside that building or premise. This can be with or without a warrant. Therefore, entering a court room or being present within court premises does not place any one above the Law or exempt them from Law Enforcement”
In the past, the Uganda Law Society condemned what they termed as impunity exhibited by security agencies when they re-arrested Dr. Ismail Kalule who had been granted bail by Justice Moses Mukiibi of the International Crimes Division of the High Court. Following his release on bail, security operatives led by the Joint Anti- Terrorism Taskforce and Counter Terrorism forcefully grabbed Kalule before bundling him into a waiting vehicle and drove.
Aggrieved by these repeated acts, the courts of law have severally pronounced themselves on such underhand methods in which suspects are re-arrested by security agents. A case in point is Constitutional Petition No. 18 of 2005 in which the Uganda Law Society dragged the Attorney General followed by another Constitutional Petition No.7 of 2007 in which Rtd Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye Kifefe and others sued the Attorney General. There is a wealth of other embarrassing incidents on kidnaps and arrests.
The Constitutional Court in both cases declared the acts of these officers as unlawful and in contravention of the constitutional rights of the accused persons as well as the independence of the judiciary. Ugandans then jubilated thinking sanity had been restored. Allowing history of this kind to repeat itself reflects erosion of progress so far made and shows that the country still has a long way to go in the struggle to achieve rule of law.
In one of the incidents, the then President of the Uganda Law society expressed dismay reminding security organs to stop violating and attacking the precincts of the temples of justice but it has not stopped. “We have always advised the government that it is wrong for state agents to continue violating rights with impunity but it has not stopped”
The law society then wrote a protest letter to the Chief Justice demanding action such as closing the courts of law to send a message to the executive. When such primitive acts are carried out in a country that pretends to respect the rule of law, it undermines the judiciary and casts the country in bad spirit. Soon the judicial officers will start questioning their own actions why they grant bail only for the freed persons to be re-arrested or would I call it abducted by those who think bail is only a ceremonial act.
We have been preaching to the world how we have made strides in promoting constitutionalism and the rule of law but what happened on Friday is a mockery of what we preach and is not any different from what transpired during the 1970s. The kidnaps and abductions in the name of arrests are reminiscent of what happened to hundreds of Ugandans like Ben Kiwanuka and Janan Luwum during Amin’s regime.
What does it take to follow the normal guideline before a person is arrested? If a member of Parliament can be picked like a grass hopper, then who is safe? I have fronted this argument before when Mary Blessing Asio was kidnapped in a drone under the watchful eye of CCTV cameras only for security to turn around to blame the incident on her husband Francis Onebe and even dragged him to court for her murder.
When a court grants bail to an accused person but he/she is re-arrested, somebody is indirectly telling the judiciary that their power to release an accused person on bail is not absolute and can be set aside and or checked by a re-arrest. It is a direct attack on the independence of the judiciary as enshrined under Article 128 of the Constitution which we must condemn with the highest contempt it deserves. Matters are made worse that the re-arrests are made right at court to send a signal that the right to bail should not be exercised.
Incidents of this kind have happened in the past but it appears past where the different security agencies deny responsibility. As relatives of a kidnapped person make attempts to locate their loved ones, the Police deny responsibility often referring them to CMI and JAT yet these abducted persons are eventually found with the crime intelligence or flying squad. Sometimes they are found tortured and held in un-gazetted facilities beyond the statutory 48 hours.
The judiciary needs to convene at the earliest and come up with measures that are going to teach security agencies a lesson that impunity should never be allowed to have any breathing space in any civilized society. For instance, the courts can take a decision to grant unconditional bail to such persons without imposing cash bail or a need for sureties. Secondly, the Judiciary can refuse to hear any subsequent cases brought against such a person arrested immediately after being granted bail or can reject any cases filed by the Attorney General’s chambers.
All of us are potential victims of this level of impunity and can become a norm if no threat is put in place to condemn this high level of human rights violations. These acts have been synonymous with the past years. There was a time when people calling themselves security operatives re-arrested the suspects in the murder of Andrew Felix Kaweesi and another incident when the High Court in Kampala was invaded before arresting some people accused of terrorism and hustled them away to an unknown destination.
Wadada Rogers is a commentator on political, legal and social issues. Wadroger@yahoo.ca
