The Wheels of Justice

I can’t believe I’ve been here five weeks. During my time with Justice Lugayizi and the week I spent at the prosecutor's office, I’ve been exposed to many facets of the criminal justice system of Uganda. I’ve visited a police station here in Kampala, spent a week with federal prosecutors, worked intimately with Justice Lugayizi in the High Court, and we plan to visit Luzira Prison in the next two weeks. Each of these experiences has helped frame a sometimes blurry picture of the Ugandan system. At times, it seems like the separate parts of the system—the police, the prosecutors, the courts—are separate wheels, each spinning at its own rate, not necessarily in concert. Over the next few weeks, I’ll try to present snapshots of what I’ve seen and learned.

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Part I

Four weeks ago, Justice Lugayizi heard the appeal of a man convicted of indecent assault of a nine-year old girl. More accurately, Justice L heard the appeal of the convicted man’s lawyer. The man, a teacher at the school the girl attended, was “sick”; at least that’s what his lawyer told the judge. The hearing proceeded. (That hearing is detailed in a post titled “We came to do business this morning” from May 30.)

Last Wednesday when the judgment regarding the man’s appeal was to be read, the convicted man was again absent, this time his lawyer informing Justice Lugayizi that his client was “bed-ridden” and hadn’t been up for two months. Again, Justice Lugayizi proceeded all the same.

If it seems strange to you that a man would not appear in court on the day he might be exonerated for the crime of indecently assaulting a young girl and subsequently set free, it should. That’s because when you are convicted of a crime like statutory rape in America, you go to prison. You have the option to appeal that conviction, and if the appeal is heard, you remain in prison unless your conviction is overturned. The same is not true here.

In Uganda, after an appeal hearing is granted, a convict can seek bail. If the judge grants bail, a man convicted of molesting a child can be released even though he has not served the duration of his sentence and his conviction has not been overturned. (Justice Lugayizi did not grant this man bail. In fact, Justice L no longer presides over bail hearings for reasons that should be somewhat obvious if you remember his experience with the Black Mambas, detailed in an earlier posting.)

There could be many reasons that the teacher was not in court last Wednesday. While he very well may have been bed-ridden, it seems more likely that he didn’t show up because a judgment against him would land him in prison immediately. Instead, as Justice Lugayizi was pronouncing the teacher’s fate, he was at home, allegedly sick in bed.

The conviction was upheld, and the man who was convicted by a magistrate of undressing his nine-year old student and touching her private parts was ordered back to prison. As it stands, he is hundreds of kilometers away from Luzira Prison, in the western Uganda district of Beshirye.

After his chambers cleared, I asked Justice Lugayizi how long it would take for the man to be sent back to prison. He told me he didn’t know.

Shortly thereafter, the state attorney returned to Justice Lugayizi’s chambers to pick up a signed copy of the judgment and take it to the Registrar. The Registrar of the High Court then will note the judgment in the official record and send a copy of the judgment to police headquarters in the district of Beshirye. From there, the police will arrest the man. At least, that’s how the wheels are supposed to turn.

It is possible, however, that the man will remain free. Sometimes, the police will show up to arrest a person who knows they are coming, and will learn that the person no longer lives at the residence of record. Maybe his family or villagers are hiding him. Sometimes, the arresting officers will be told that the man is dead. Because records of such things aren’t strictly monitored, the trail may end there.

It may be that a man who was convicted of indecent assault of a nine-year old girl and sentenced to three years in prison will live free the rest of his life, never serving out his sentence.