A section of lawyers has petitioned the Constitutional Court, seeking changes to the cash bail system. The group, which includes lawyer Kuuku Amos, Ssetimba and Company Advocates, and two individuals, Kasule Ezekeil and Kajubi Frank Barnabas, aims to stop the practice of requiring people to pay cash for bail without checking if they can afford it.
These lawyers argue that this practice violates people’s right to freedom and contributes to prison overcrowding.
The lawyers are challenging section 78(b) of the Magistrates Court Act, which allows judges to ask for cash. They argue that this goes against other parts of the Constitution, like Articles 21, 28, and 126, which guarantee equal access to justice regardless of financial status.
Instead of cash bail, the lawyers suggest other ways to ensure that people come back to court. For example, they propose having someone vouch for them or promising not to flee or interfere with the case. They believe this would be fairer. They say that having to pay cash for bail can be difficult.
They want the court to begin releasing people from jail if they can’t afford cash bail.