4.4. AWARENESS OF THE RIGHTS TO BAIL

There was a greater level of awareness about the right to bail among the inmates than the right to apply for police bond among suspects. Out of the 613 prisoners interviewed, 393 prisoners (64%) knew about the right to bail, while 220 (36%) were unaware of the right. Asked how they knew about this right, majority said they were sensitised by prison warders (welfare officers), fellow inmates, human rights clubs, family members and the media respectively.

Table 13: Awareness of the right to bail (Source: ASF baseline survey data)

The plight of prisoners who did not know about their right to apply for bail was highlighted by Joyce, a prisoner at Gili Gili prison in Arua.

‘I have been here for four years now. I did not even know that I could get out on bail. Before arrest, I used to sell brooms in Pakwach town to feed my three children. I was accused of arson and brought here after my neighbour’s grass-thatched house was burnt. I did not do it and I worry about my children and cry every day because I do not know how they are surviving now. If I could access bail, I would go out and see them.’

David, a 28-year-old prisoner who has been on remand for 2 years at Kigo men’s prison said he didn’t know about bail despite being on remand for two years.

‘I do not know about bail. I have heard fellow prisoners mention it, but beyond that I don’t know about it and no one has educated me about it.’

For Winnie, a 45-year-old on remand for 2 years for threatening violence who learnt about bail from the human rights club at Gulu Women’s Prison, all that is stopping her from securing bail is failure to access sureties from her home.

‘My husband and I are here for the same offence. I have not got access to my family but I believe that they can help me get bail if I told them and they come here to sand surety for me.’

Owing to their limited level of education, and for most, their level of income, many of the detainees are unable to hire the services of a private lawyer. Many alleged to not having met with a lawyer in the course of their time on remand and expressed shock at the revelation that they were eligible for mandatory release on bail, owing to their overstay on remand.

The prisons visited in northern Uganda, Arua and Gulu, also happen to be main prisons in their respective sub-regions of West Nile and Acholi and as such, serve as regional facilities. This makes it hard for the families, relatives and friends – who live in districts where the offence was allegedly committed from to visit, help with the court process or stand surety for them; making it harder for the suspects to fulfil the minimum conditions for their release on bail.

This is the case for Jessica, a 25-year-old female inmate at Gili Gili prison who was arrested from Zeu in Zombo district for assault.

Just like police bond and adherence to the 48- hour rule, bail has also become a controversial issue in Uganda and has been for the last several years, with the President repeatedly calling for its regulation, especially for murder suspects and other suspected capital offenders.34 On October 17, 2021, the Daily Monitor – a local daily newspaper – reported that cabinet had gone ahead and okayed reforms that will see the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 and the Police Act Cap 303 amended, making it harder to access bail and police bond.35 It remains to be seen to what extent the proposals will impact the grant of police bond and bail, the right to a fair trial and right to liberty.

Conclusion

The knowledge about the right to bail and police bond has not translated into access to justice for those in police detention and on remand. This is because without services of a lawyer or legal aid, suspects oftentimes are not aware of the process for application of police bond and neither are they able to negotiate with the police. While for those on remand, lack of legal representation means that they cannot fulfil the formalities and pursue having their cases cause listed even for a bail hearing. The possibility that inmates who have spent several years on remand without appearing before the courts have fallen through the cracks and have been forgotten by the criminal justice system cannot be discounted and point to the need for legal aid services in Uganda.