How to recover your bail money

A fortnight ago, a human rights activist demonstrated at the Judiciary headquarters in Kampala for a non-refund of his bail money amounting to Shs3 million.

Mr Habib Buwembo vowed not to leave the Judiciary headquarters without the bail money he claimed he had pursued for the last three months without success.

The bail money in question had been paid in a case in which he had been charged for accusing Speaker of Parliament Anita Among of alleged corruption but had since been acquitted.

His demonstration paid off when within days, his Shs3 million bail cash was wired onto his mobile money account.

Mr Buwembo’s bold move to camp and demonstrate at the Judiciary headquarters is an eye-opener that some court litigants might not know how to recover their bail money.

But while addressing journalists at the Judiciary headquarters late last week, the Judiciary permanent secretary, Mr Pius Bigirimana, explained that Mr Buwembo's bail refund could not be swiftly processed because he had not attached the necessary documentation such as his original receipts to show proof of payment.

“…The problem lies with limited awareness of bail refund, and this is what I have recovered. There is somebody whom I thought had gone to school and knows these things but was protesting. So, I asked for his papers, there was no receipt attached, and there was no court order. So how do you expect me to process your bail refund without attaching the necessary documentation?”Mr Bigirimana said.

Bail is an agreement between the applicant or his/her sureties and the court that the applicant will attend court when required, and should the applicant abscond, in addition to the court issuing warrants of arrest, a sum of money or property directed by the court to be deposited will be forfeited to the court.

Ugandan laws demand that the bail cash ordered by courts is to be refunded after the conclusion of a case unless the same has been forfeited to the State in the course of the trial.

According to the Judiciary's five-step procedure for bail refund, one has to apply in writing to the court that granted the bail, for his/ her bail refund.

The contents of the application should include; the full name of the applicant, address and phone contact, bank account details/mobile money number. The bank account/mobile money number should be registered in the name of the applicant who is the person to whom bail was granted.

Also, the applicant should attach several documents like the original bail bond form received from the court, the original general receipt that was issued by the court, the original Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) acknowledgment receipt (where applicable).

The court where the application is made is expected to extract the court order for the bail refund, ensure it is signed and sealed by a judicial officer, and attach it to the application.

The cashier of the court shall then prepare a requisition for the refund with the required documents addressed to the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary. The signed requisition for bail refund is then delivered by a Staff of the Court to the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary for processing of the refund directly to the applicant’s account.

How long it takes

The Judiciary says as long as all the necessary documentation is in order, a bail refund should take seven working days from the time the application is lodged at the office of the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary.

“If there are queries about the documents filed, the refund may take a little longer, but in any case, it is expected that it will take 15 working days and such queries may include; incorrect bank details being availed by the applicant, the account is dormant, the authenticity of the supporting documents is questionable. Non-refundable monies payments made following the legitimate payment procedure for deposits of cash bail are the only ones that are refundable,” says the Judiciary.

According to its bail refund procedure rules, the Judiciary shall not refund/be held responsible for amounts not paid directly in the bank, payments made in corridors of court to any staff of the Judiciary, middlemen also known as ‘bush lawyers’, advocates (if any), payments made in advance or before bail is granted to any staff of the Judiciary or other actors in the criminal justice chain.

“All the above payments are considered bribes,” the Judiciary warns.

Mr Bigirimana said the Judiciary only pays the amount pronounced by the judicial officer in open court before warning that money not pronounced in court shouldn’t be paid. He also urged court users to make payments for bail in the bank, obtain receipts for payments made, and keep original documents that will be used to process the refund of bail monies.

Steps to recover cash

•Apply in writing to the court that granted the bail. Contents of the application should include; the full name of the applicant, address and phone contact, bank account details/ mobile money number. The bank account/mobile money number should be registered in the name of the applicant who is the person to whom bail was granted.

•Attach to the application, the original bail bond form received from the court, the original receipt issued by the court, and the original Uganda Revenue Authority acknowledgment receipt.

•The court where the application is made shall extract the court order for the bail refund. The same shall be signed, sealed by a judicial officer, and attached to the application.

•The cashier of the court prepares a requisition for the refund with the required documents addressed to the permanent secretary to the Judiciary. This requisition is signed and submitted by the head of the station, and not the applicant.

•The signed requisition for bail is then delivered by a staff of the court to the permanent secretary for processing of the bail refund directly to the account of the applicant.