Don’t seek plea-bargain if innocent, Owiny-Dollo tells inmates

Uganda’s chief justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo has advised inmates against enrolling for plea bargain in order to plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit in a desperate attempt to escape prolonged judicial hurdles and detention in prison.

Speaking at the launch of a three-day plea bargain camp at Gulu Main Prison in Gulu city on Monday, Owiny-Dollo noted that plea bargaining is only meant for inmates who confess to their crimes and seek a lesser sentence, but not for those innocent.

“You know you have not done it, but you have stayed on remand now three, four years, for goodness’ sake, stand firm because you know you have not done it,” Owiny-Dollo told the hundreds of inmates in attendance.

He urged inmates at Gulu Main Prison not to go for plea bargain if they know they are innocent and can better explain the charges against them.

“Don’t go for a plea bargain, don’t go for confession when you know you have not done it. If they have charged you with murder and you know you have a reason to explain why you have been charged with murder, come out and say I know you are charging me with murder, this is the reason I did it…,” he said.

He explained that a plea bargain is a better form of alternative dispute resolution, which brings healing and closure between the victims and the perpetrators and encouraged only inmates who feel they have committed the crimes to enrol.

“So there must be genuineness if you know you did it, my advice is use this process because it will bring true healing…” he said.

The plea bargain session, which runs till Wednesda,y is being supported by legal experts from Pepperdine University in the United States of America and the Ugandan Judiciary. A total of 280 inmates at Gulu Main Prison had by Monday signed up for the plea bargain session by Monday and will receive free legal representation from Pepperdine University and Ugandan lawyers.

Gulu High court circuit resident judge Philip Odoki, said the High court currently has at hand a total of 2,027 criminal cases, out of which 531 of have had their investigations completed and are ready for trial.

He however, noted that the cases ready for trial would account for 13 criminal sessions to which the court is struggling to meet the demands. Justice Odoki too cautioned inmates not to enrol for the plea bargain session if they haven’t committed any offence, citing its criminal.

“It’s a criminal offence to lie to judicial officers that you committed the offence for the benefit that you want to get out, so you will be punished here but in addition to that you will also be punished in heaven…we don’t want cases of people who are not guilty to enroll on plea bargain simply because you want get out…” Odoki said.

Jane Frances Abodo, director of public prosecution (DPP), noted that inmates shouldn’t take a plea bargain as a forgiveness session, arguing that even if an inmate confesses to a crime, it carries punishment.

“Please, don’t mistake a plea bargain that we forgive you, and then you walk home. Plea bargain, mercy, forgiveness and punishment are different things. They will forgive you, but you did something wrong, so you have to do some punishment so that it helps you also to heal…,” she said.

Abodo also encouraged the prosecutors to conduct fairness after an inmate has confessed to a crime, but not to use their confession as a chance to hand them harsh punishments.

“So, the prosecutors, I always say this and I repeat as you read the files, read the files with fairness. Don’t say this is a chance for me because now the person has enrolled in the plea bargain, this is the chance, at least to get a conviction. No. I say when you are reading the files and you find there is no evidence, please send the file to Kampala,” said Abodo.

At the launch of the plea bargain camp, Abodo revealed that four inmates who had enrolled for plea bargain will be released after no evidences were found linking them to charges of murder against them.

Those released from remand are Patrick Komakech, Brian Opiyo, Ismail Onen Kadogo, Richard Okumu Obong, and Robert Olok. Abodo didn’t specify the date for the release of the inmates who had been on remand.

Plea bargain is one of the mechanisms launched by the Judiciary in 2015 to fight congestion in prisons and reduce case backlog in courts across the country by offering alternative to the lengthy judicial trials through negotiated settlements.

Ronald Mutebi, the officer in-charge of Gulu main prisons however said congestion remains a major challenge at the facility arguing that a greater percentage of inmates are on remand.

According to Mutebi, Gulu Main Prison capacity was meant to hold 244 inmates, but it is currently overwhelmed with more than 1,600 inmates, the majority being on remand.

“As I speak this morning, we’re in 1,600. That speaks clearly about the levels of congestion we are experiencing. My lord, aspects of court, justice delivery in general, remains a challenge given the number of remandees that outweighs the number of convicts,” said Mutebi.

According to statistics from Gulu main prison, as of June 23, there were 1,652 inmates at the facility. Additionally, there were 37 lodgers, two debtors and 12 babies. However, out of the 1,652 inmates, 453 have been convicted of capital offences while 176 are petty convicts.

816 of the inmates were capital offenders and 180 petty offenders all on remand. Mutebi however requested the judiciary to roll out similar plea bargain sessions in other prison facilities in the Acholi sub-region.

Across the northern Uganda sub-region, as of June 23, there were 6,509 inmates in 17 prison facilities. Out of this, there were 4,101 convicted male prisoners, 1,120 female convicts, 2,143 male convicts on remand and 145 female convicts on remand.