Mr Daniel K. Kalinaki
Would Muhammad Ssegirinya, the recently deceased Member of Parliament for Kawempe North constituency still be alive if he had been granted bail earlier? The short answer is that we do not know.
The Grim Reaper collects when the Grim Reaper collects. Yet, as the recrimination over Ssegirinya’s drawn out poor health, hospitalisation and eventual surrender to the scythe starts to ebb, one is left feeling that this was a death that could possibly have been postponed.
It is also a death, when it eventually happens as it will to all of us, that should not have been wrapped in sackcloth so heavy with angry grief, it felt as if it had been matured in a barrel with fermenting grapes of wrath.
The conventional wisdom is that Ssegirinya and his fellow MP, Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West) were arrested over the machete murders of Masaka that happened in the run-up to the last election.
An alternative view favoured by many is that the two first-term MPs were detained and left to stew over some unclear political beef. However, let us, for argument’s sake, say Ssegirinya was involved in the murders and that the police were right to interrogate him and consider him a suspect.
Why wasn’t he tried? The answer is that justice, for victims and suspects, often dies in the dark and empty void between a crime being committed and the police finding sufficient evidence to bring to trial. This should be a routine law enforcement matter. Suspects might record charge-and-caution statements or even be formally charged in a court of law.
Often, however, there is insufficient evidence or none, to support the charge. What should happen in that case? The rules give two options; police bond if inquiries are still ongoing, and court bail if, on the face of it, there is enough to show a suspect’s involvement in the matter, but more time is needed for additional investigation or to fix a trial date.
These two levers – police bond and court bail – are important safeguards against the abuse of power by law enforcement and judicial officers. They are the handmaidens for the presumption of innocence. They are also under severe attack. The President has long been critical of the right to bail. He has recently extended his criticism to police bond, going so far as to try to illegally legislate it away by proclamation.
This is wrong. Yes, some people granted police bond melt into the general population never to be seen again. Suspects out on court bail can also disappear or commit more crimes while facing trial. The solution is to improve the quality of cases brought to court so that trials can happen quickly. Another is to raise the negative incentives for repeat offending or jumping bond and bail, not eliminating them.
The risk of some suspects jumping bond or bail does not justify blanket detention of all suspects, including some who might be innocent. The threshold of criminal convictions – beyond any reasonable doubt – gives the benefit of the doubt to the defence, not the prosecution.
We need to increase our prosecutorial and investigative capacity while also preserving our presumption of innocence. A three-strike rule, as is in place in California and elsewhere, would serve as a deterrent for repeat offenders. We must be tough on crime but the way to do that is to ensure that we find, try, convict and sentence criminals quickly.
Shoot first then ask questions, or jail then investigate are symptoms of a broken system, not one that works. In the present case of Ssegirinya we don’t and possibly shall never know whether we are mourning a martyr or a murderer. If there was evidence that he did it, he should have been convicted.
If there was some but not enough evidence, he should have been released on bail on a short leash. Without evidence, he should have been acquitted or never been arrested in the first place. If you can’t bring a suspect to trial, you should not hold them as prisoners. How do you atone for your error if you discover you got the wrong guy?
And, amidst all the drama and recrimination, there is still no justice for those murdered in Masaka. For how long shall we continue to bury our mistakes or put politics ahead of people’s lives?
Mr Kalinaki is a journalist and poor man’s
freedom fighter.
[email protected]; @Kalinaki
