KAMPALA —The Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo has Thursday September 12, stated that the re-arresting of suspects granted bail by court is an abuse of the court and the law.
Justice Owiny-Dollo says that such deliberate actions leads to people’s loss of faith in the courts of judicature which can only result in grave consequences where people choose not to come to the court but to take the law into their hands.
The judge’s reaction came in after plain clothed gun men viciously re-arrested four men who were granted bail by the Deputy registrar of International Crimes Division of the High Court together with one of their lawyer Mr James Mubiru.
The three re-arrested are Yusuf Mugerwa alias Wilson, Jibril Kalyango alias Abu Aisha and Yusuf Siraje Nyanzi alias Jimmy Ssentamu, however their colleague Yusuf Siraje Nyanzi alias Jimmy Ssentamu managed to escape .
“This high handedness in the re-arrest of persons released by courts is a direct affront to the much cherished rule of law in Uganda. An advocate is an officer of court and must be accorded protection when he or she is executing professional services to accused persons or litigants in courts of law,” Justice Owiny-Dollo noted in his press release dated September 12.
“The continued rearrests of suspects in the precincts of the court yet again by security agencies is a sad reminder that more still needs to be done to instill the importance of the rule of law in the institutions charged with keeping law and order,” he said.
Justice Owiny-Dollo also noted that even where courts have made decisions considered to wrong, the proper course of action is to seek redress within the law.
He has then called upon security agencies to refrain from flagrant abuse of the law thus seeking for the perpetrators of such acts be brought to book as a clear and unmistakable statement that actions as this one cannot be tolerable.
This website has since learnt that that the rearrested suspects are at Kireka Special Investigation Unit (SIU) while there lawyer Mr Mubiru who is facing a charge of obstructing police officers on duty is expected to be released on a police bond at Jinja Road Police station.
