FDC warns Museveni over the continued attack on Constitution
The Forum for Demonstration Change (FDC) has castigated President Museveni’s proposal to scrap bail for capital offenders, saying it's a mere diversion from the Land Amendment Bill.
The warning comes amidst President Museveni proposal to scrap bail for suspects battling capital offences such as murder, rape and treason.
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Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Kampala, FDC deputy spokesperson John Kikonyogo warned the president over the continued attack on the Constitution, adding that the right to apply for bail is inherent to all Ugandans.
"Bail is not absolute; it's only granted on the discretion of the court. Bail may be denied or restricted, the duty to deny bail lies with the state/ prosecution which may present compelling reasons to move court to deny bail. In other words every bail application is considered on its own peculiar merit and circumstances,”said Kikonyogo.
He noted that Uganda being a commonwealth country, falls under the common law system which is based on presumption of innocence.
Under Article 260 of the Constitution, the presumption of innocence as created by Article 28 (3) a of the 1995 Constitution can only be repealed or amended by a decision of the people of Uganda through a referendum.
"We have Ugandans who were imprisoned, granted bail and were rearrested but the court found them innocent 10 years later. As FDC we want to tell Ugandans that this bail discussion is not new. Mr Museveni has tried it many times before, the latest being in 2011," he said.
