By Watchdog reporter
After the Saturday conviction of VVIP police officer a one Nkamuhebwa Canan attached to SFC who shot dead Paul Tumukunde following a bar brawl in Sembabule town on Thursday last week, a section of the public and media described the trial, conviction and sentence as a rushed trial.
The Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) has defended the conviction saying that justice delayed is justice denied.
“On the contrary Speedy Justice is what most Ugandans yearn for and indeed as the adage goes “Justice delayed is justice denied”. Uganda’s criminal Justice system should emulate what the SFC Division court Martial did in dispensing justice to the family and relatives of both the deceased and the killer,” said UPDF spokesperson Brig. Richard Karemire.
“For records purpose, the division court martial was well constituted and all the key ingredients of the laws that govern a military court martial followed. The convicted persons; PC Nkamuhebwa Canan (death sentence), Pte Katsigazi Abel (40 years imprisonment) and Lance Coporal Abasa Johnson (15 years imprisonment for abetting crime and conspiracy respectively), have an opportunity to appeal the sentences if they need to,” he added
He further said those complaining about the speedy trial are nursing a hangover of the delays they are used to that has characterized much of our criminal justice system.
“Speedy justice is what we need as long as the key tenets of the law are not compromised. The people of Sembabule and relatives of the deceased will leave to appreciate work of this court Martial seating that left them with no doubt because of its openness and fairness,” he urged.
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