We promote, protect & defend the rights of an accused person.
The promotion, protection and defense of accused person’s rights in Uganda has long over due been in vain.
Many accused or suspected persons are ever under the arbitrary will of the people once they are suspected of having committed a crime or caught in the act of committing a crime.
Many accused persons have been killed in cold blood, maimed and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment hence this is a violation of their rights.
Article 28(6)of the constitution of the republic of Uganda provides for the rights of accused person as follows:-
‘’Every person suspected or accused of having committed an offense, shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty”.
Its whoever inglorious to report that this provision pertaining the protection and promotion of accused persons rights is more of theoretical than practical.
Its rhetoric and it has turned to abuse the law makers who enacted it and therefore needs to be scraped from the articles pertaining promotion of human rights in the constitution of the republic of Uganda because:-
Women suspected of stealing money and were stripped naked, this is a violation of the accused person’s right and their right to privacy.
This man was accused of stealing a cow and then tortured until he was hunged by the locals.
The mob run after a person who was suspected to have defiled a girl under the age of 18 years and no right to a fair hearing was accorded to him.
a)Many accused /suspected persons privacy has been exposed to the public
- b) Many have been tortured and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment
- c) Many have been killed
d)Many are denied of the right to affair hearing in a court of law/administrative tribunals’
d)Many are tortured and coerced to make confessions against their own will which violates section 24 of the evidence Act of the republic of Uganda which states.’confessions,made out of inducement, torture ,threats and intimidations are invalid confessions and not admissible in evidence.
During the last five years, the organization identified and supported 423 accused and suspected persons to be accorded a right to affair hearing and their cases were successful and out of this 380 were on remand and later they were exonerated from liability.
See videos of accused persons who were tortured, killed or subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.
These people were caught stealing and beaten to death
He was caught stealing
The accused person above knocked a pedestrian and the mob could not give him the right to a fair hearing to take him to police but instead decided to kill him thus this is a violation of the rights of a suspect/accused person which should be promoted, protected and defended
Our goal is therefore to sensitize communities on respect for the rights of accused persons as stipulated in Article 28(6)of the constitution of Uganda and uphold section 24 of the evidence Act of Uganda.