Five years after his prosecution was halted, former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Kazinda, remains incarcerated in Luzira Prison — despite the Constitutional Court quashing all charges against him.
In August 2020, the Constitutional Court barred any further prosecution of Kazinda over allegations linked to his time in the Prime Minister’s office and ordered his immediate release.
The Anti-Corruption Court, before Justices Lawrence Gidudu and Margaret Tibulya, accordingly issued discharge orders but noted: “Unless he is held on other charges.”
Justice Gidudu clarified on October 19, 2020: “For avoidance of doubt, should the Supreme Court stay the judgment of the Constitutional Court, then the applicant will be brought back to the proceedings.”
However, the Attorney General appealed against the ruling and successfully applied for a stay of execution.
The Supreme Court, composed of Justices Alphonse Owiny Dollo, Stella Arach-Amoko, Rubby Opio-Aweri, Faith Mwondha, Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa, Paul Mugamba and Night Percy Tuhaise, issued an order halting the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision.
Kazinda protested, arguing that no valid appeal had been filed within the legally required 50 days and that the appeal had been withdrawn — making the stay order baseless. Despite this, he was returned to the Anti-Corruption Court, convicted and sentenced.
The Constitutional Court later held that the Supreme Court’s stay order could not be interpreted to allow his continued prosecution.
“If the Supreme Court had intended that the respondent should continue prosecuting the applicant (Kazinda) it would have explicitly stated so,” the justices ruled.
Court records show that on July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court — led by Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny Dollo — heard the Attorney General’s appeal seeking to overturn the Constitutional Court’s decision.
Other justices on the panel were Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa, Percy Night Tuhaise, Monica Mugenyi, Elizabeth Musoke, Christopher Madrama, and Catherine Bamugemereire.
While all other cases heard in the same session were determined, including the high-profile Michael Kabaziguruka case, the Kazinda ruling remains pending more than a year later. Unlike other appellants, Kazinda remains in custody.
Family Petition to Chief Justice
On September 29, 2025, Kazinda’s family, friends, and well-wishers petitioned the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court, expressing anguish over the prolonged delay.
They described Chief Justice Dollo as someone who understands Kazinda’s plight, having presided over several related hearings.
“…our deeper sorrow is that six years have now passed since his discharge, yet he remains bound in endless waiting. What should have been a victory has been emptied of its meaning by the prolonged pendency before the Supreme Court,” the petition reads.
The petition highlights the suffering of Kazinda’s 81-year-old mother, who can no longer make the journey to Luzira Prison, his 15-year-old son who barely remembers his father outside prison walls, and his 31-year-old daughter who has grown up without parental guidance.
The family noted their expectation that Kazinda’s case would follow quickly after the Kabaziguruka ruling in January 2025, but “eight months have since passed without resolution.”
“Your Lordship, we are mindful that making this request 15 months after July 5, 2024 may appear impatient. Yet this appeal, first heard in November 2021, has now been pending for 45 months — a heavy burden for any litigant, more so for one still behind bars,” they pleaded.
Background of the Case
Kazinda was arrested in 2012, imprisoned, and later had his convictions quashed in March 2019 and April 2020 by the Court of Appeal.
After the Constitutional Court nullified all criminal proceedings, his case files were nevertheless revived — a move his supporters attribute to misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s stay order.
Lingering Questions
Kazinda’s prolonged detention has raised sharp questions in legal circles about whether the temporary stay order has effectively determined the main appeal. Observers also question why the Attorney General has not taken further steps to have the matter concluded.
The family is now urging the Supreme Court to deliver its long-awaited ruling to enable them to pursue other legal remedies.
“To the eight years he first suffered under wrongful trials and convictions, another five years of sleepless nights have been added — waiting for justice that is still withheld,” the petition concludes.
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