By Mulengera Reporters
Almost a month after the Supreme Court annulled the trial of civilians at the General Court Martial, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) has yet to receive all the files for people jailed under the Military Court’s directive. The Directorate is also unclear about how many files remain with the Military Court.
George William Byansi, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions – Inspections, Quality Assurance, Research and Training, revealed this during his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee on 27 February 2025. MPs expressed concerns about the delays in the DPP’s review of these files.
Byansi explained, “I will not say much on this issue but what I can say is that the Supreme Court didn’t amend the Constitution. As the Office of the DPP, we don’t control cases in the Court Martial. We are waiting for the files to come to us. Some have arrived, others have not, and we cannot determine the total number. As the Accounting Officer mentioned, we were prepared to respond to queries and audit reports, but we did not come prepared with these figures. However, we can provide the details.”
His comments came in response to a question from Muwanga Kivumbi, Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, who asked for an update on the number of cases received from the General Court Martial. Kivumbi pressed further, “On the Constitutional Court ruling and the many prisoners who are supposed to be transferred from the Court Martial to the Civil Courts, why is the transfer taking so long? It is of paramount interest to Ugandans. And how many are they? We may be talking about National Unity Platform members, other prisoners with spokespersons and party affiliations, or even those not aligned with the Party or prominent figures like Dr. Kizza Besigye. How many people in the Court Martial, following the court judgment, ought to be transferred?”
In addition, John Amos Okot (Agago North) MP asked the DPP to clarify whether, under the Constitution, the General Court Martial is supposed to provide the files directly to prosecutors, especially since this time the files are not being referred to the DPP by Uganda Police as mandated by the Constitution. He questioned, “By law, where are they supposed to get files from? If the law doesn’t permit you to receive the files from any source other than the Police, will the case not collapse?”
Byansi responded, “The Police CID investigates and gathers evidence. We review the information they have collected and then decide whether to take up the case. In such cases, we use the information provided to initiate investigations and determine our next steps.”
Muwanga Kivumbi then reiterated his request, asking the DPP to provide details on the number of files received from the Court Martial to date, “Can you provide me with details of how many files have arrived by the end of today?”-Parliament Watch. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
