UGANDA: DPP rejects plea to halt graft trials

By NELSON WESONGA.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has turned down a request to halt ongoing trials of people charged with corruption. Mr Richard Buteera said halting the cases would jeopardise the orders his office has so far obtained to freeze the assets of some suspects.

“…it is not legally beneficial to halt the ongoing trials as any new offences or legal regime created by a new law will not apply retrospectively. In some of the ongoing cases we have obtained freezing orders for assets of suspects, which may be jeopardised in case we halt the trials,” said Mr Buteera through a March 19 letter to Mr Patrict Nsanja.

The earlier request

Mr Nsanja, the Member of Parliament for Ntenjeru South, had on March 13 requested the DPP to halt the trials until Parliament passes the Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill, 2012.

“Aware of the retrospective principle of administering justice that bars laws from working backwards and the magnitude of losses accruing from the current corruption scandals, I appeal to your office to halt trial of current corruption scandals until the Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill is passed into law,” he said.

He argued that once the amendments were passed, it would “enable the State to fully get back, in real terms, what was lost to corruption”.

Mr Buteera said he agrees with the MP on the need to “improve our legislation in the area of the recovery of proceeds of corruption.

However, he added, under the current legislation we have managed to prosecute offenders and upon conviction recover illicitly required proceeds of corruption through compensation orders”.

Source: Saturday Monitor (06/04/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/DPP-rejects-plea-to-halt-graft-trials/-/688334/1740220/-/fkctv5z/-/index.html