Kampala High Court has reportedly refused to refer to the Constitutional Court a prosecution in which two jailed lawmakers had attempted legal interpretation concerning government witness safety.
It should be noted that Makindye West’s Allan Ssewanyana and Kawempe North’s Muhammad Ssegirinya are in jail on indictments of terrorism, murder, endeavoured murder, and supporting and abetting terrorism.
The High Court International Crimes Division’s Justice Khaukha Alice on Thursday decreed that the pre-prosecution criminal trial shall continue as decided by the parties.
The Lawmakers who have been in Jail for at least a year had petitioned whether the security of witnesses in the expression within the court’s verdict contravenes and is incompatible with Articles 28 and 44, whether statute 22 of the judicature decrees 2016 is incompatible with articles 28, 42 and 44.
Furthermore, they wondered whether the rule of proceeding on related accusations founded on synonymous validities to undertake the accused individuals both at the ICD and Masaka High Court isn’t incompatible with Articles 28 and 44.
” I discover that issues 1 and 2 as put forward by counsel for the indicted do not call for constitutional interpretation because the Constitutional Court already proclaimed itself on the exact in earlier prosecutions and that the ICD rules are certainly in line with that court judgment, ” Justice Khaukha decreed.
However, Justice Khaukha conveyed qualms on how the third question was phrased, contending that it builds a feeling that the court decreed for similar criminal proceedings, one in Masaka and another before the ICD, on identical charges founded on related validities which she explained was not real.
” This court discovered that the two prosecutions do not have related charges and related validities though the offenses are of a relaxed attitude. This was finalized and as presiding justice in that petition, I cannot reconsider it to phrase a question out of it for citation to the Constitutional Court for translation, ” Justice Khaukha decreed.