Augustine Ruzindana
28 August 2008
opinion
The creeping normalisation of militarisation of the administration of criminal justice is taking place without any public debate or protest and very soon it will be irreversible. It is now common to see military roadblocks and military patrols on foot.
Frequently there are reports of civilians or soldiers tried for penal code criminal offences in military courts. The disarmament in Karamoja is essentially a police operation but the military has gone about it as if it is a war situation and belatedly, it is symbolically handing over to the police, which is itself now an arm of the military anyway. The military has been involved in revenue collection and more recently, immigration matters.
The latest example is in the New Vision August 25 headline, "Mother of Nine Sentenced to Death" by a military court in Bukedea district for murder. The story is illustrated with photographs of the convict, Icakuna talking to her 12 year old daughter Akello, who had run 13 kilometres to come to court and see her mother. Then Icakuna is shown sitting on a military police pickup guarded by a heavily armed soldier and holding a stick at the ready to strike the crying Icakuna.
The reporting is not very clear but it seems Icakuna hired someone to murder Odeker to settle scores over a land dispute.
The murder was accordingly committed and the case seems to have been investigated by the police as there are several references, in the Vision story, to police involvement.
When and why the case gets removed from the police to the military is not clear but the death sentence is eventually passed by Lt. Col. Mulindwa, chairman of the division Court Martial.
There is no doubt that the courts of judicature in Uganda are competent enough to handle cases in which guns have been used to commit criminal offences. The issue then is why civilians should be tried in a Court Martial. Is there a war situation in Bukedea so that it can be said that these people could not be taken to a normal court of competent jurisdiction?
The administration of justice in these Courts Martial has been known to be some sort of summary justice. Several years ago two soldiers who were alleged to have killed a Catholic priest were arrested, tried and executed within two days. Yet the constitution in Article 28 (3) (e) provides that every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall "be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his or her defence".
How could those soldiers have had adequate time to prepare their defence and when were investigations and trial carried out?
We should not protest about the impropriety of using military courts only when prominent people, like Dr Kizza Besigye, are taken there. If no justice can be expected for Dr Besigye before a Court Martial, why would justice be expected in the case of the hapless Icakuna?
There is need for inquiries by the Law Society or Parliament to establish the quality and procedures of administration of justice in these courts. The Law Reform Commission should help to harmonise the laws relating to gun use with constitutional rights of accused persons. The Human Rights Commission should look into these trials and see whether they conform to the law. When you read that Mukalu was acquitted of murder but sentenced to eight years imprisonment, you wonder why he was imprisoned.
The law(s) allowing civilians and soldiers who commit penal code criminal offences to be tried in military courts should also be amended so that "all persons are equal before the law.." and receive fair trials before impartial courts.
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