Kampala: Chief justice of Uganda Bart Katureebe has said Court will continue to be guided by constitution and the law in the matters relating to bail out of murder suspects.
During the presentation of national budget at Victoria hall, Serena hotel, Museveni directed both Police and Courts of law to stop releasing murders suspects on bail and police bond saying, “No way to police bond. Bail for killers is not acceptable,”
According to justice Katureebe, the judiciary’s position can only change when the law is amended, “it is simple, the issue of bail is governed by constitution and law, until the law is amended, bail will be granted or denied in according to constitution,” he added.
Quoting article 23(6) (a, b and c) Katureebe noted that court presume suspects innocent until the proved guilty in a trial, and therefore they have a right to apply for bail and Courts have the discretion to grant or deny the application.
“The law provides adequate safe guards and court take into account a number of consideration including the matters of public safety before they grant bail,” he said.
Upon Museveni’s directives, police reacted by re-arresting of Mukono municipality MP Betty Nambooze who had been released on police bond following her arrested in matters related to the gruesome murder of Arua municipality Ibrahim Abiriga.
The slain legislator was gunned down on June 8, 2018 follows a list of Muslim clerics, and state prosecutor Joan Kagezi, assistant inspector general of police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi who were murdered by unknown assailants travelling on motorcycles.
However since they breathed their last, police arrested over 100 suspects but none of them has been convicted of murder instead a few of them including the Tabliq leader Amir Sheik Mohammed Yunus Kamoga and three others were convicted of terrorism and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Since killings started in 2012, government stepped up various measures including the installation of CCTV cameras at major road junctions, sim card registration to cartel criminality however nothing has ben achieved.