The Chief Inspector of Courts, Justice Stephen Musota, has directed the Court of Appeal Administrator, Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, to take urgent action on a complaint filed by City Lawyer Steven Kalali regarding his stalled petition challenging the bail guidelines issued by the Chief Justice nearly two years ago.
In his letter dated August 6th 2024, Justice Musota stated that Kalali’s complaint, filed last month, alleges delay in fixing his petition for hearing.
“The complainant alleges delay in the cause listing of his petition for hearing. He makes reference to a communication from the Deputy Registrar dated 15th February 2023 notifying him that the petition shall be in consideration of other urgent matters”, reads the letter.
It adds “, I, therefore forward the complaint to you for appropriate action and update this office accordingly on the action taken”.
It is copied to Kalali’s lawyers of Ochieng Associated Advocates and Solicitors and the Registrar Inspectorate of Courts.
Kalali said that since the Chief Inspector of Courts has intervened, he is hopeful that action will be taken. He added that his case has far-reaching consequences on the rights of inmates who have been on remand for so long.
Last month, Kalali petitioned the Chief Inspector of Courts seeking answers on the delay in hearing his case challenging bail guidelines issued by the Chief Justice, nearly two years after it was filed.
Kalali filed a constitutional petition challenging the bail guidelines and directives issued by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo on July 27, 2022.
The guidelines in question restrict the power to grant bail to the High Court, despite the Constitution stating that any court can grant bail to a suspect who has spent over 180 days on remand without commitment. Kalali claims in his petition to the Constitutional Court, that this restriction is an amendment to the Constitution, which only Parliament has the power to do.
The guidelines also require the clerk of lower courts to prepare case files and send them to the High Court registrar, who then forwards them to a High Court judge for consideration.
Kalali believes that this process infringes on the rights to liberty and the presumption of innocence, which are enshrined in Chapter 4 of the Constitution.
He further states that the guidelines are unconstitutional and that Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo exceeded his powers by making provisions related to mandatory bail in capital offenses, which is a legislative function of Parliament.
Additionally, Kalali argues that the guidelines were issued without sufficient public participation, which the Constitution requires for decisions that affect individual rights. He is seeking a declaration from the Constitutional Court that the guidelines are unconstitutional and should be quashed.
However, since the filing of the petition, it has never been heard thus making a complaint to the Chief Inspector of Courts.
In his complaint, Kalali stated that he attached more than 200 Affidavits of inmates from different prisons who have clocked mandatory bail but could not be released and are in continued detention without being committed to the High Court.
‘That I have with the help of my lawyers of M/S Ochieng Associated Advocates and Solicitors made several follow-ups with the Deputy Chief Justice as President of the Constitutional Court over the expeditious hearing of the said matter owing to its urgency since 2022 the matter having been already conferenced but all in vain despite court writing to us promising to hear it as soon as possible “, reads the petition.
Kalali argued that to his surprise, other constitutional petitions that were filed in 2023 after his such as the petition against the Anti Homosexuality Law and others also involving serious questions of interpretation regarding the violation of the right to liberty have since been heard and determined, allegedly for reasons best known to the Deputy Chief Justice who is the head of the Constitutional Court.
Kalali thus requested the Chief Inspector of Courts to task or demand an explanation from the Deputy Chief Justice regarding the delayed hearing of his Petition. He also prayed that they should direct the matter to be heard in the next session or immediately without any further delay adding that Justice delayed is justice denied.
English 