The trial of Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, former FDC presidential candidate, and others before the General Court Martial remains controversial. His legal team and supporters are up in arms while the state is resolute on why some category of suspects must face the army court.
As more questions are raised and answers given, my thinking is that this is good for strengthening and clarifying the boundaries in the legal and justice system.
That being that, aware that court is a higher-level platform in the justice system, why don’t we invest more effort in clearing the court system, whether civil or noncivil, of much of the case burden. The challenge of a backlog which is usually raised as an indictment on the diligence of our judicial officers or staffing levels is actually an indictment on the Ugandan society at large.
Why do we have so many crime incidents? Or, why do our courts have so much work to attend to? I have heard of countries with nearly empty prisons such as The Netherlands. Chances are that they have equally nearly empty courts. How can we aim for this status of having an “underworked” judicial system? The existence of a relaxed justice system infers a significantly law-abiding, peaceful and progressive society. It could also suggest the presence of a strong alternative justice or dispute resolution mechanism.
While arguing on either side of the courts, shouldn’t we discuss more remedial and preventive measures that might minimise or completely eliminate cases that appear before the “much-dreaded” court martial, and the other courts? Normally, before one is indicted, there is a reasonable level of culpability. It’s usually said that “there is no smoke without fire.” Before a case goes to court, investigators look at the facts of a matter, which then goes through prosecutor’s office to determine its viability. When the facts are deemed too weak, the case dies an early death and if they are strong, it’s forwarded to the bench for trial and disposal. For every case that is prosecuted successfully and fairly, it means that someone offended the law books and for any successful and fair acquittal, it means that someone was wrongfully brought to the dock. How satisfying it would be that we have fewer convicts by way of fewer individuals caught breaching the law and fewer acquittals by way of having fewer individuals indicted in error!
The general principle of “prevention is better than cure” applies appropriately in law as it is in other fields- such as the medical field. It’s better to encourage people to desist from acts that expose them to the higher risk of being found culpable of incriminating acts of a general nature. With the Court Martial, the active ingredient is that anybody found engaged in acts that threaten national security and in possession of tools of such trade qualifies one to be charged there. Whether one is convicted or accused is another matter altogether, subject to the court process. As the discussions “for” and “against” the military courts involvement at this level continue, we hope for a conclusive resolution so that we concentrate on how to guide citizens more towards being law-abiding and legally conscious.
Civilian courts are there but even these shouldn’t be too busy attending to avoidable causes and cases.
Who will lead the drive to make our population less prone to coming at odds with the law and to love harmonious co-existence with others? This is a multistakeholder role but, first, I place it in the hands of defenders of justice, law and order. I wish to see more lawyers at the frontline educating and sensitising the population on being responsible, law-abiding and nonviolent. Are the people well-versed with the law and its wide-ranging provisions touching every aspect of society or they only get to know when called to answer for violations? Even for the bench, much as it is a source of employment for them, judges and magistrates are “happier” when citizens respect the law. They are agents of lawfulness and compliance rather than faultfinders. The component of sensitisation, and encouraging and rewarding good behaviour and lawfulness should take precedence and get more support under the JLOS arrangement.
On the side of police, more needs to be done in community policing and crime prevention engagement with the public. Police can take on a more engaging, persuasive and reforming stance in dealing with people than enforcing compliance. It would be the ideal, but this is disrupted by the nature of society and competing interest. It goes without saying that the army-and prisons-should also step up crime prevention and lawfulness compliance efforts.
On the other hand, Resident City/District Commissioners (RDCs/RCCs) should use their positions as heads of security in their respective jurisdictions to rally the people to love living in a peaceful and secure environment for themselves and others around them, and emphasising the mediation component in community dispute resolution. Let the people know Uganda’s troubled history and why a recourse to violent methods to address challenges of today is grossly counterproductive.
They should be advised to desist from associating with bad groups hiding behind activism to cause misery and tears. The same message should be reechoed by politicians because some of them are guilty of direct incitement of the public or speaking ambiguously about the methods they are employing in competing for power. Religious leaders, cultural leaders, civil society, educationists, media; let us all work towards minimising crime in our country.
On social media, you notice a frightening level of polarisation and threats of personal harm and violence, insults and treasonous insinuations just from making a harmless or advisory post. What would stop someone who can openly threaten harm to others or talking “treasonous language” from fulfilling those threats if they had the necessary tools? Politicians and users of public media should watch their language because it can incriminate one even though empirical evidence to pin them may take time to be found. The problem may be less of “which court” than “what”!
The author is the Special Presidential Assistant-Press & Mobilisation-Deputy Spokesperson
Email: faruk.kirunda@statehouse.go.ug
0776980486/0783990861
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