[Ugnet] 33, 000 inmates suffer as govt pays out Shs2.5b to cronnies (I bet there is a kickback lurking somewhere!)

[musamize]

33,000 inmates suffer as govt pays out Shs2.5b

ANGELO IZAMA & SOLOMON MUYITA KAMPALA

Monitor, May 13, 2006

 

MORE than 33,000 Ugandans accused of criminal offences will continue languishing in jail awaiting trial because the government has failed to adequately fund the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

 

The same government, however, is paying out Shs2.5 billion to private lawyers to help it prosecute just one case in which it has had a rough ride in the High Court with its star witnesses.

 

The Shs2.5 billion being forked out to six private lawyers from Kampala Associated Advocates, a city law firm, to help prosecute FDC leader Kizza Besigye and 22 others accused of treason is equivalent to nearly the entire wage bill of the DPP’s office, approved expenditure estimates for the current financial year show.

 

The DPP’s office is charged with deciding which criminal cases involving civilians go on trial, when and who prosecutes them. It, however, cannot make sure suspects get a speedy trial because it is severely understaffed and under-funded.

 

Consequently, at the end of 2005, the overall backlog of criminal cases across the country and at all court levels stood at 33,524, a large number by any measure.

Sunday Monitor has learnt that a desperate DPP, Mr Richard Butera, has over the years asked in vain for money to recruit more lawyers so as to prosecute fast enough all those suspects that need to be tried.

The DPP’s recurrent budget is Shs3.7 billion, with Shs2.5 billion going to staff salaries and Shs1.2 billion paying for other things.

 

Approved professional staffing levels for the DPP’s office stand at 216 lawyers who should work as state attorneys throughout the country, and 166 state prosecutors with diplomas. Some 174 other employees are support staff. But today the DPP has just 115 state attorneys working the whole country, 21 of whom were recruited only last October.

 

Under the donor-assisted Case Backlog Project, the government has Shs5.85 billion to spend through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs’ Justice, Law and Order Sector. The money enables court sessions in terms of paying attorneys and prosecutors, processing of evidence from the Government Analytical Laboratory, investigations by the police and transport.

 

While the government under-funds the DPP’s office, it still does not get enough from the Backlog Project. Under the project, the office was allocated Shs805 million last financial year, but actually received Shs801 million. This year, it was allocated Shs1 billion although it is not clear how much has actually been released.

 

Because of the problems saddling the DPP’s office, the government accumulates more cases than it can dispose of in good time, thereby delaying justice. For instance, while criminal cases grow at a yearly rate of 8 percent, the rate of disposal is negative (-) 8 percent. This means that there is virtually no progress being made in reducing on the number of cases pending trial.

 

The DPP’s problems are compounded by the equally overworked and under-funded courts and police. As a result, more and more suspects stay in jail for much longer, something that has led to overcrowding, spread of disease and death of inmates in prisons.

 

The government has, however, defended its decision to pay out the billions of shillings for the services of lawyers Peter Kabatsi, a former DPP himself; Charles Kalumiya; Elly Karuhanga; Oscar Kambona; David Mpanga Sr; and Sam Mayanja.

The six men have joined Deputy DPP Byabakama Mugenyi, who has been solely prosecuting the case and struggling along the way with problematic witnesses.

 

Government Spokesman Nsaba Buturo said on Thursday that the State would get value for money. “This is not a case against Besigye and the 22 others,” he said. “It’s a case against Uganda. Therefore we need to hire smart lawyers. Always treason, capital crimes are very important. They are always regarded seriously because they constitute ultimate crimes against the State.”

 

Two seasoned criminal lawyers both of whom have held the DPP’s office before differed on the significance of the amount being paid out.

“That [kind of expenditure] is unprecedented,” said Mr Protazio Ayigihugu. “It is really alarming and an insult to the DPP. I know that criminal practice needs experience and that is unnecessary waste of money on lawyers whose specialty is not necessarily criminal practice.”

For his part, Mr McDusman Kabega said he saw no problem with the whole transaction. “It is a question of paying for what you want,” he said. “If you want something done for you and as a lawyer I demand, it is up to you and what you want.”

A senior state attorney in the DPP’s office said that the office does not spend a lot of money on prosecuting a case. “State attorneys are paid between Shs200,000 to Shs500,000 as transport and lunch allowances in a criminal session of one month, which covers between 15 to 40 cases.

“It is not really a lot of money needed [for the DPP]. The Judiciary basically funds the cases, as they spend on witnesses coming to testify, hiring lawyers on state briefs [for defendants who cannot afford legal representation], the assessors and at times interpreters.”

 

Lawyers on state briefs are normally paid no more than Shs300,000 per case and the assessors and interpreters earn less than Shs20,000 per court sitting during a trial, while the judge is given allowances ranging between Shs3 and Shs5 million per criminal session.

 

The DPP official said a very expensive case could cost the government about Shs10 million to investigate and prosecute.

The feeling within the DPP’s office is that if it were adequately facilitated, it would have the capacity not only to prosecute cases fast but also to handle such high profile trials as the one involving Besigye and 22 others without the government having to spend a lot of extra money.

 

By spending Shs2.5 billion on private lawyers on one case yet it has a DPP’s office, the NRM government has opened itself to accusations that it is going “to the ends of the earth” to nail a portent political opponent of President Museveni: Kizza Besigye.

 

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