[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 30



UGANDA:

Museveni and the death penalty



President Yoweri Museveni has repeated his determination to sign death warrants 
for those who commit offences like murder. He says it is his way of dealing 
with the rampant killings happening in the country.

While addressing the 20th Annual Judges Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo on 
Jan.22, Museveni regretted not signing the death warrants over the years for 
convicts of murder.

"For us we believe in the old law of Moses of an eye for an eye, and a tooth 
for a tooth," he said, "I will support the death penalty until I retire from 
leadership."

This was the 2nd time Museveni was citing the death penalty after he said those 
who kill should be hanged during a commissioning ceremony for prison warders a 
few days ago.

The judges' conference which ran from Jan.22- 25 was held under the theme 'An 
inclusive judiciary for sustainable development' and was attended by judges, 
magistrates, registrars and officials of Evolve; an organisation of lawyers 
based in the U.K.

Museveni also said he was disappointed by the sentence of 8 months handed out 
by City Hall Court to 6 butchers found guilty of using chemicals to preserve 
meat and fish.

"How do you hand out 8 months? People who use formalin to preserve meat, those 
ones deserve 20 years," he said.

The President also rejected calls for appointment of more judges and their 
demands for higher pay and retirement benefits saying Uganda was still a 
recovering society unable to take care of all the demands of civil servants. 
"How do you fund institutions in a post recovery phase of a formerly failed 
state?"

He said the country had other competing needs and added it was a deliberate 
policy for Uganda to prioritise road infrastructure where the Works sector gets 
Shs4 trillion and the Judiciary Shs134 billion per annum.

Museveni told the judiciary to address the problem of wastage in its sector and 
that in the wider government manifested in constant travel on so-called 
benchmarking trips.

Judges' demands

The Chief Justice Bart Katureebe laid out a list of demands he said were vital 
for the judiciary to effectively perform its duties. Katureebe said the 
judiciary needed 532 Grade 1 Magistrates but only 192 are available and 100 
Chief Magistrates yet only 42 are present. He said the country needed 82 High 
Court judges yet there are only 50 and also said that Court of Appeal judges 
needed to be doubled from the current number of 14.

Katureebe also reminded the president about the promises he made to judicial 
officers in September 2015 that remain unfulfilled. These include retirement 
benefits for judicial offers, houses for judicial officers, vehicles for 
magistrates handling land disputes, and Shs10 billion for the Uganda Judicial 
Officers SACCO.

The chief justice called for the reinstatement of Local Council Courts which he 
said provide justice for rural communities. "LC Courts will shoulder the 
millions of unmet needs. If this institution is reintroduced, it will help a 
great deal in solving cases in villages because there are fewer negative 
emotions involved."

The head of the judiciary lamented the perennial problem of case backlog that 
is most common in land, family and criminal cases. "An average land case takes 
15 months to resolve". However, Katureebe noted that the judiciary had made 
some strides with the automation of courts, introduction of small claims 
procedure, plea bargaining; the latter 2 which have lessened congestion in 
detention centres.

Magistrates cry out

Godfrey Kaweesa, the Chief Magistrate of Iganga and president of Uganda 
Judicial Officers Association told The Independent that Iganga currently has no 
resident judge yet it has a High Court circuit and therefore judges have to 
come from Jinja to handle cases. "When the judge comes, he has to sit in the 
chambers of the chief magistrate and the chief magistrate sits in the library."

Kaweesa also lamented a discrepancy between the welfare of judges and 
magistrates even though the entire judiciary is grappling for more resources 
altogether.

He says after the Penal Code Amendment Act in 2009 and the Magistrates Courts 
Amendment Act, the jurisdiction of the chief magistrates were enhanced but it 
is yet to be translated into practice because it did not come with a budget. 
Under the State Brief funds, chief magistrates handle semi-permanent cases like 
defilement, arson where maximum sentence is life imprisonment. "In this 
arrangement, accused persons must be represented by the state yet money under 
State Briefs is so limited and the sessions have 40 cases per month".

He says lawyers are shunning the chief magistrate's court to represent accused 
persons in this scenario and subsequently suspects are languishing in jail. 
"There is only Shs1 million per month for all cases, yet the judges were 
getting Shs40 million for the cases; this is form of a discrimination".

He also said the judges are more privileged through benefits like security and 
yet magistrates dispose of 80% of judiciary work but with a much smaller 
budget.

(source: independent.co.ug)

**************

Kitata Court-Martialed, Could Face Death Penalty



The patron of Boda boda 2010 association also Rubaga NRM Chairman Abdalla 
Kitata could face the death penalty if he is found guilty in a Uganda 
court-martial.

Kitata and his co-accused who are mostly members of the infamous 
vigilante-cum-militia outfit, Boda Boda 2010 face five charges, which include 
four counts of failure to protect war material contrary to Section 122 (1) and 
(2) (h) and (I) of the UPDF Act, 2005.

They also face charges of being in possession of military stores contrary to 
Section 161 of the UPDF Act.

The court-martial is authorized to consider capital punishment, according to a 
military statement released Wednesday by the deputy army spokesperson Lt.Col 
Deo Akiiki.

The failure to protect war materials attracts a maximum sentence of death while 
that of being in possession of military stores attracts a life sentence.

The Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) Monday referred the case of 
Kitatta and 12 others to the Unit Disciplinary Court (UDC) of Uganda Peoples' 
Defence forces at Mbuya Army Barracks.

The appeared before the court on Monday but the group didn't take plea for the 
charges against them and were remanded to Kigo prison until February 9, when 
they will reappear before the military court for mention of the case.

The others are Joel Kibirige, Matia Ssenfuka, Hassan Ssebata, John Kayondo, 
Hassan Ssengooba, Sunday Ssemogerere, John Ssebandeke, Sowali Ngobi, Amon 
Twinomujuni, Hussein Mugema, Fred Bwanika and Ibrahim Ssekajja. They all face 5 
charges, which include 4 counts of failure to protect war material contrary to 
Section 122 (1) and (2) (h) and (I) of the UPDF Act, 2005.

"The criminal procedure requires that a court without jurisdiction can only 
read the charges preferred and remand the accused," the military emphasized in 
its statement.

Akiiki explained that the civilians who are mostly members of Boda Boda 2010, 
were to be tried in court martial under section 119 of the UPDF Act which 
states that every person found in unlawful possession of arms, ammunition or 
equipment ordinarily being monopoly of the defence forces becomes subject to 
military law.

Kitata was arrested on January 20, a day after CMI had apprehended his young 
brother, Huzairu Kiwalabye over the kidnap and killing of Case Hospital 
accountant, Francis Ekalungar.

Ekalungar was kidnapped on 2nd January as he took the hospital's money worth 
Shs15million to the bank. His charred body was discovered a day later at 
Kajjansi along Entebbe road.

The army arrested at least 30 members of Bodaboda 2010 but has since released 
18.

(source: allafrica.com)








KENYA:

Show down looms ahead of Kenya's Odinga swearing-in



A showdown looms between security officers and opposition supporters, as 
opposition leader Raila Odinga plans to take the oath of office on Tuesday as 
the "president" of Kenya. The police have already banned the planned swearing 
in ceremony by Odinga, set for 30 January at the historic Uhuru Park grounds in 
Nairobi.

The Kenyan government has said it does not recognize the planned swearing-in of 
opposition leader Raila Odinga as the "people's president".

Deputy Vice-President William Ruto on Sunday dismissed the event, and said 
Kenya had moved on following the lengthy political period which saw the country 
hold 2 presidential elections.

The opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) led by Odinga, on the other hand, 
has maintained that they have mobilized millions of supporters across the 
country to grace the occasion.

Meanwhile, security officers have vowed that they would use their power to 
ensure the swearing-in does not happen.

Speaking in Nairobi on Monday, NASA CEO Norman Magaya said they expect their 
supporters to arrive at the grounds by 8.30 am.

"We are swearing-in Raila as the president of the Republic of Kenya, not the 
people's president," he said during an interview with a local television 
station.

"We legitimately made a reservation for the park, and we have not seen any 
notice to turn us away from using it," he added.

On Sunday, Nairobi police chief Japheth Koome said nobody would be allowed to 
use the grounds, and described the function as "illegal".

Odinga declared that he will not recognize a win by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 
the controversial repeat poll that was held last year in October 26, which 
Odinga boycotted. The repeat polls were held after the Supreme Court annulled 
the August 8 elections on September 1.

Kenyatta won that vote with more than 98 % of the votes cast.

A dispute ensued after the declaration of those results, as opposition 
supporters clashed with police. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights 
issued a report that the clashes left 37 people dead and injured more than 100 
others.

Kenya's Attorney General, Githu Muigai, has also warned Odinga that engaging in 
the swearing-in exercise was tantamount to treason, and that Odinga risked 
facing the death penalty.

(source: journalducameroun.com)








FRANCE:

France warns Iraq against issuing death sentences to European nationals



France reacts to the Iraqi court???s decision of issuing a death sentence to a 
German woman, who allegedly belongs to the Islamic State. Paris has responded 
to the decision, saying that, "it will intervene" if its nationals are given 
capital punishment in Iraq or Syria, for belonging to militant groups.

"Of course if there was a question of the death penalty, the French state will 
intervene," Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told French Media outlets on 
Sunday.

When the minister was asked to elaborate on her comments she said, France would 
"negotiate with the state in question... on a case-by-case basis".

The comments followed up after the Iraqi court ruled a German woman guilty of 
belonging to the Islamic State militant group.

In the past French citizens have been recorded as being the vast majority of 
overseas fighters who have enlisted with the militant group.

Local French intelligence services have reported that 690 French nationals were 
fighting alongside militants in Iraq and Syria in November.

Muslims should not allow West to 'dictate' true meaning of Islam: VP al Azhar 
University

Earlier this month in Pakistan, Vice President (VP) of al Azhar University in 
Egypt, Mahmood Ahmed Hashim said that Muslims cannot allow the west to dictate 
the meaning of Islam to them, he said while talking to Express News.

Talking to reporters at an invitational event in Karachi Press Club, Hashim 
emphasized the historical significance of the Egyptian institute in his speech.

"Al Azhar University has been faithfully serving and guiding the Muslim 
community worldwide for the past thousand years," he told the media personnel 
present on the occasion.

The vice president also spoke about the need to reform the image of Islam on 
the international stage, especially so because terrorists were bent on trying 
to shift the narrative away from the message of peace.

"Some elements associate the menace of terrorism with Islam only to defame the 
latter. We cannot accept or allow westerners to interpret Islam for us," he 
stressed.

(source: The Express Tribune)








TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

42 on Death Row...but why no hangings?



42 prisoners are on death row. 12 of them cannot meet the hangman because of 
Pratt and Morgan.

But for the rest of them, Attorney General Faris Al Rawi has vowed that 
Government will do everything to uphold the law in respect of the carrying out 
of the death penalty.

He said the last administration "sat on its hands" and did not put any 
mechanism in place to ensure that the State complied with its responsibilities.

Responding to a question in the House of Representatives, the Attorney General 
said almost the 12 prisoners who failed to meet the Pratt and Morgan, crossed 
the deadline during the period prior to September 2015 "because there was 
nothing done to implement the law [in respect of hanging]," he said.

"The law (under this Government) will be upheld and the mechanism of tracking 
is afoot. And we literally have it on a case by case basis at the desk of the 
tracking mechanism in the office of the Attorney General," the Al Rawi said.

He said under Pratt and Morgan once 5 years had been crossed, the prisoner 
cannot be hanged. "And therefore the only mechanism that the State could be 
involved in is to make sure that you quicken the appellate process from the 
State's end," he said.

He said in 2010 to 2015 not a single case was tracked and as a result all 
matters fell to Pratt and Morgan and the law with respect to imposing the Death 
Penalty could not be applied.

(source: Trinidad Express)