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Uganda: Communication Problems Leave 40 Deaf People in Prison Without Trial
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New Vision (Kampala)
21 February 2008
Posted to the web 22 February 2008
Joyce Namutebi and John Odyek
Kampala
FORTY deaf people are languishing in prisons without trial due to communication constraints.
Alex Ndeezi, MP for Persons with Disability, said the courts do not provide for sign language.
"The deaf cannot communicate with the Police, magistrates and judges," he said on Wednesday.
The MP raised the issues during a debate on the report of the committee on equal opportunities.
This followed a 2006 petition by the Uganda National Association for the Deaf in which the members complained that they were sometimes denied justice. "They are unlawfully arrested and put in detention without trial," they said.
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Ndeezi promised to give Parliament the names of the detainees.
According to committee chairperson Jalia Bintu, lack of communications skills for the deaf also denied them access to health services and participation in decision-making.
Parliament recommended that the Government enacts a sign language policy to promote its use in different sectors. MPs also called for a census for deaf persons in order for the Government to plan for them.
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