More than 500 inmates apply for plea bargain

A total of 518 inmates at Masindi Main Prison in Masindi District have applied for plea bargain.

Speaking during the launch of plea bargain sessions at Masindi High Court on Tuesday, Justice Jessy Byaruhanga, confirmed receiving the applications and said of the 518 inmates, 424 are capital offenders while 94 committed petty offences.

Justice Byaruhanga said the cases will be heard within three weeks.
“The total of 424 inmates who opted for plea bargains, almost a half of these cases are going to be heard over a period of two weeks,” Byaruhanga said.

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Currently, Masindi High Court has a total of 880 backlog cases.

Plea bargaining is a negotiated agreement between the prosecution and an accused person who is represented by a lawyer. 

During the session, the accused person comes before the judge to plead guilty to the charges against him or her in exchange for a lesser sentence without going through a full trial.

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The Principal Judge, Flavian Zeija, who presided over the function, said during the judges’ retreat last week, they committed to emphasise plea bargaining as one way of reducing congestion and case backlog.

Appeal
He appealed to inmates to embrace plea bargain as the only opportunity to negotiate lighter punishments.

“This is a programme for inmates who are guilty. If you know you committed an offence, this is the time for you to accept such that you’re given a sentence,” he said.

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Justice Jane Frances Abodo, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), said there is need for the involvement of police in the plea bargaining processes.

“We need to involve the police because these are the people who are going to inform the DPP that the person has accepted having committed the offence or not,” Ms Abodo said.

She added: “It’s not good for inmates to only wait for the plea bargaining camp but this can be continued by doing it at least once a week as we encourage it in the lower courts.” 

Masindi High Court handles cases from nine districts in Bunyoro Sub-region.

The officer in-charge of Masindi Main Prison, Mr Felix Mugasha, asked judiciary to organise more sessions of plea bargain.

Masindi prison currently has a total of 1,855 inmates.

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Mr Mugasha explained that the inmates constantly complain of overstaying on remand and congestion in cells.

“We have maintained observance of human rights. I have registered no complaint of torture. All my staff are aware of human rights violation consequences,” explained Mugasha.

The prisoners at the facility are engaged in activities such vocational skills training, formal education and adult literacy, and spiritual counselling, among others.

The Masindi District LC5, Mr Cosmas Byaruhanga, implored the inmates to utilise the opportunity instead of staying on remand without knowing their fate.