Uganda cries for justice

A small team of solicitors, sent by BMS World Mission to work with the Uganda Christian Lawyers’ Fraternity (UCLF), is engaged in a major project in Kampala, striking at the root of one of Uganda’s greatest needs.

Following in the footsteps of Christian educationalists and healthcare professionals, who have done such pioneering work in Uganda over the past 120 years, these lawyers are laying foundations for justice both now and for the future.

Inspired by ‘Justice for the Poor’ projects in other countries, their work is strategic at several levels. Firstly, there are now five law schools in or near the capital, Kampala. Hundreds of Christian law students attend weekly faculty meetings on campus, where their songs of praise may be exuberant but the teaching makes little connection with their professional responsibilities. The UCLF team, in partnership with the local IFES movement, is supporting these groups and arranging conferences for the students to develop a vision for living out Christian ethics in legal practice.

Advice and education

Secondly, working mainly through Baptist churches, they are providing legal advice and education both to Christians and to Kampala’s poor. There are current plans to extend this work nationwide. In the north, land disputes are a particular problem, as internally displaced people return home after the conflict with the rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Thirdly, they have acquired funding from Danida (Danish International Development Agency), who is supporting UCLF’s team of Ugandan ‘paralegals’, working with the justice system to promote human rights for suspects detained by the police. These funds are channelled through the Ugandan NGO Foundation for Human Rights Initiative.

Packed conference

While recently staying in Uganda, I was able to see their work at first hand. For instance, I attended a student leadership conference arranged by UCLF. Nearly 50 student leaders, the men wearing dark suits and the women smartly dressed, packed into a small conference room in the UCLF offices for the day, in temperatures around 30 Centigrade. They were taught various skills and priorities in terms of leading their large student groups, as well as an extended session on ‘How to lead a Group Bible Study’. This basic material was clearly new to them and was greatly appreciated. The UCLF office itself has been so well stocked, through the generosity of UK Christian Lawyers, that it provides these students with one of the best legal libraries in Uganda.

The highlight of the conference was an informal talk from a leading Ugandan Christian lawyer, who had for many years held high office at the centre of political life. In his humble estimate, this was more because of his Christian calling and reputation than his ability. He shared frankly the difficulties and challenges he faced as well as the personal lessons he had learned.

Bribery and politics

Bribery and ‘political’ interference are part and parcel of Ugandan life. People in spheres of influence regularly lean on police and legal officers to arrest and detain those who are opposing their interests. It is suspected by many that Ugandan prisons have become an excellent way for people in power to ‘lose’ people who are a nuisance to them.

Uganda is suffering a major shortage of judges, despite persistent calls on the government from the judiciary, and recently from MPs. According to a front-page headline story in Kampala in February, this backlog has plagued the courts for years. As a result, the judges are becoming ill through overwork and the prisons are vastly overcrowded. The Supreme Court, for instance, which should have seven judges, has recently had only two. In July 2007, a backlog of some 4,839 cases was pending action in the High Court, and 23,417 others for the Chief Magistrate Courts.

Without trial

Official government statistics in 2007 admitted that, out of a total prison population of 17,931, the number being detained without trial was 10,490. While in Britain we argue over allowing 42 as opposed to 28 days’ detention without charge, many Ugandans have been in prison without trial for up to six years, including many who maintain their innocence. By the time they come to trial, it is commonplace for defendants to be set free because the witnesses can no longer be found, leaving insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

This is where the role of the ‘paralegals’ comes in. There are currently four Ugandan men who have only a very basic education in legal processes and are modestly paid (even by Ugandan standards), but who have a deep sense of commitment to their work. They all see their work as a response to the call of God to stand for justice for the most marginalised in their community. Funding has now been promised for eight more paralegals. This will enable two paralegals to be based at each of Kampala’s six main police stations. Their work is supervised by one of the UCLF lawyers from the UK.

The suspects parade

Each morning, every Kampala police station undergoes a suspects’ parade, where those detained in the cells are brought before the officer in charge of the station. With the supervising UCLF lawyer, I was able to attend a parade at the Kiira Road Police Station. 36 male suspects and four women were marched from cramped, dark and filthy jails, on to a balcony where they were paraded before the senior CID station officer. This large man, smartly turned out, was a commanding presence, in marked contrast to the ten police officers who lounged around the balcony wall, with body language that spoke more eloquently than anything they said. The other striking figure was the UCLF paralegal. Smart in his uniform, standing upright, he hung on every word and made detailed notes.

Each suspect was called in turn to stand and be questioned. The commanding officer was clearly concerned to get at the truth. He interrogated each suspect, as well as the arresting police officer, in front of the whole assembly. Having heard the charges and the circumstances of the offence, the suspects were led back to the cells.

We weren’t able to go into the cells, but we were able to talk to the male prisoners through the bars of their cell door. It was too dark inside to adequately assess the size of this pen, but I assume that such a space would in the UK be considered full if it housed six men, not 36. The women were housed outside the police station in a small ‘banda’, a circular steel shed, without bed, furniture, carpet, toilet or tap and with only one small window.

After the parade, we spoke to the officer in charge. He was entirely positive about the paralegal’s role. He said he welcomed anyone who was concerned to help them with human rights and assured us that, under his command, they had full access to all the people under his authority, to their files and to all the various judicial agencies.
What can be achieved?

This was the first time the UCLF lawyer had met him. The officer had only been in post for three weeks and his predecessor had refused all co-operation and would not allow paralegals into the station. What can these paralegals achieve?

Firstly, they make contact with the suspect’s family, who would not otherwise be informed of the prisoner’s whereabouts. This not only enables visits to occur, but the relatives can provide food, clothing and other basic necessities, such as a blanket to lie on. Without this, prisoners would receive only one meal a day, a basic provision of millet and beans; they have nowhere to sit and they sleep on the floor.

Secondly, they can contact the victim and, in liaison with the family, try to arrange a compensation payment to satisfy the victim, allowing him to drop the charges.

Thirdly, where such arrangements fail, they can often find a responsible member of the suspect’s community to ‘stand bond’ for the prisoner. Here, no money changes hands, but the named individual becomes responsible to see that the accused attends court when his trial date comes up. In a recent audit of their work, this was the outcome for more than 50% of the suspects.

Fourthly, there are occasions when the paralegal can, at the outset, identify factors that invalidate the case, such as irregularities in the charge, inconsistencies in the police account and lack of witnesses, leaving no prospect of a conviction. The paralegals can advise prisoners of their rights and, in liaison with the commanding officer, facilitate their release.

In these ways, many suspects can be sent home within a few days, when otherwise they could wait in prison for years for their cases to be tried.

Peter May

To support this project, telephone BMS World Mission on 01235 517617 for a partnership leaflet or 01235 517641 for their ‘donation hotline’. Alternatively, you can support the project via the website http://www.clearinternational.org.