MPs Blast Judges on Delays in Granting Bail

MPs on the Legal Committee have rebuked the Judiciary for the reckless handling of bail applications.

A number of legislators have wondered whether some Judicial Officers even have common sense or are even, deserving of titles Worships or Lordship.

The MPs claim that the actions of the judges scream injustice for instance the practice of adjourning for two weeks, just to decide on a bail application.  

The attack was led by Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri County) and Medard Ssegoona (Busiro East) during a meeting held with officials from Judiciary who had come to present their 2025/26 Ministerial Policy Statement on 2^nd April 2025.

“There is this simple thing called bail. And somebody adjourns a case for two weeks to grant bail. This is madness. This is purely madness. It is not professional. It’s not legal. It’s not common sense. Take a decision whether you grant or not, simple, but you adjourn for two weeks to consider bail or even more, what are we doing, gentlemen? And some of you, we call you lordships, we call you worships. Why are you Justices when you cannot dispense justice?” argued Katuntu.

Ssegona doubled down on the attacks wondering what is so novel about bail applications that would warrant a two weeks adjournment. He also revealed that he has been a victim of Judiciary’s reckless handling of bail, as he has enjoyed bail for the last 16 years, and each time he goes to court, he has been told his file disappeared, and yet he hasn’t been discharged from his bail status.

“You adjourn a bail application, what is so novel in a bail ruling? Someone tells you, I’m going to hear your case, but I’ll hear your bail application two weeks, three weeks away from today. You are defeating the Constitution, because in the Constitution, everybody is entitled to be free, except where their accuser places on your table justification for restriction. Isn’t that the position of the law? Every innocent person is entitled to freedom. Now, you’re aiding the State to incarcerate somebody who is innocent for two weeks until they come to justify their freedom. I think it’s unfair,” remarked Ssegoona.  

The Judiciary was also questioned on the exorbitant bail fees imposed on suspects, with Katuntu accusing Judicial Officers of vulgarising and monetarising bail application, wondering if there aren’t other mechanisms that can be requested to enforce the appearance of suspects in courts.

“…We have vulgarised it, it is about money. It’s just vulgar, actually. Money, money, money. So me, who doesn’t have money, I have no opportunity because the biggest factor is money,” Katuntu said. 

Ssegoona wondered if the Judiciary has a system that periodically reviews the decisions of these judicial officers and offered to be among those to review these decisions, to which Katuntu proposed the enactment of an independent law to guide bail applications.

“We should start thinking about going away from the guidelines and make a substantive legislation which sort of ties your hands. It’s very unfortunate because you want a judicial officer to have a discretion, to exercise it judiciously. But if we are faced with a fatal problem, cured by the law, then we go to that level because somehow you are not exercising that discretion properly,” remarked Katuntu.

Pius Bigirimana, Secretary to Judiciary apologized on behalf of the Judiciary stating, “I want to take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of the judiciary for some of the shortcomings that have been experienced. And some of them are systemic, others are for individuals in the judiciary. We do apologize. But we are not just seated. We are looking at all those areas that have got weaknesses and see how to fix them, both in the human resource, both in the systems, as I’m going to tell you.”

Bigirimana however defended the monetization of bail saying it is currently the only available means saying, “For the time being, that’s what we have. But we shall benefit from members’ ideas. If you can come up with, for example, a proposal, you will have helped us. But for the time being, it is that.”