President Museveni has banned the issuing of police bonds citing rampant theft in villages.
“However, there is rampant stealing of cattle, goats, etc and the soft handling by the police and the courts of such criminals through giving them police bonds and court bails,” Museveni said on Tuesday while delivering his End-of-Year Address to the Nation at his country home, Rwakitura in Kiruhura district.
“I have raised the issue of bails with His Lordship the Chief Justice, and I have banned the issue of Police bonds.”
A police bond is a guarantee that a person arrested for breaking the law will appear when required by the police.
Under the Ugandan law, police bond is free, and the constitution stipulates 48 hours within which a suspect should be taken to court or released on bond, pending investigations.
Court bail is the process of releasing a defendant from custody before a trial or the conclusion of a case, with the condition that they will appear in court when required. The purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant will not interfere with the judicial process and that public safety is maintained.
The President warned that any police personnel who give a police bond to a village thief when the case is ready for trial will be held fully accountable.
“Firm legal handling of criminals is very useful. I have shared with you through social – media, how, recently, in my Karamoja trip, I was told that a total of 3,000 Karamojong Karachunas, through the efficient and dedicated mechanism of the Military Court Martial, are in the different jails – 900 of them in Kitalya Prison. This explains why there is now total peace in Karamoja and the surrounding districts of Acholi, Lango, Teso, Bugisu and Sebei. It is also good for those Karachunas. Many of them would be dead by now due to clashing with the UPDF.”
“Let the Government introduce skilling to these young people so that when they get out of Prison, they can create wealth and jobs for themselves and other Ugandans.”
Similarly, the President said handling the village thieves legally firmly is good for the villages and also good for those thieves.
“I recently, got a report from an attendant of the advanced military course at the National Defence College, Njeru, following their field research. In the research, they noticed some People drying green coffee harvested prematurely. When they inquired, they were told by the Wanainchi that nibatangatangana (to compete with some other people as to who would do something first) with the marijuana-smoking youth that idle in the Trading Centres doing nothing and, then, steal people’s coffee at night,” he narrated.
He wondered: “What are the RDCs doing? Why do they not engage these youth to direct their efforts towards honest work? How about the Police? If the concerned people do not act, I will involve the UPDF to empower all the wealth creators – farmers, etc – to guard their property by activating the vast militia of our LDUs. It will not be good for those thieves. This harvesting of immature coffee will affect the quality of our coffee. It is not acceptable.”