86. On the Complainants argument that if he lodged a case in the High Court,
as a non-resident he would be required to pay for security costs, the
Respondent State argues that the Victim could have lodged a complaint in
the High Court as the Courts in Uganda have decided in various cases,
such as in East African Holdings Ltd vs. Madavan HCCS 1181 of 1988,
that the payment of security for costs is not mandatory but at the
discretion of a judge.
87. The Respondent State submits that the UHRC' s funding has greatly
improved 11 and is fully constituted with six full time Commissioners
sworn in, in May 2009. Therefore, the Victim can notify the UHRC of his
case to enable it initiate investigations in line with Article 52 (1) of the
Constitution 1995(which permits the UHRC to instate suo moto
investigations) and the decision of the UHRC in its Complaints Handling
Procedure Manual 2008, that any person may bring an issue to the
attention of the . Director of Complaints and Investigations that they
believe requires a Commission initiated investigation.
Complainants
Admissibility
Response
to
the
Respondent :State's
Submission
on
88. The Complainants submit that the remedies referred to by the Respondent
State are not available to the Victim because to effectively access the
remedies would require the presence of the Victim in Uganda. The
Complainants refer to the case of Anuak Justice Council v Ethiopia 12,
where the Commission held that a remedy may only be available if the
petitioner can pursue it without impediments or if he can make use of it in
the circumstances of his case. The Complainants submit that the Victim
therefore is not required to exhaust any local remedy which is found to be,
as a practical matter, unavailable or ineffective.
89. The Complainants further submit that contrary to the Respondent State's
assertion that his safety "is guaranteed once he enters into Ugandan
territory to institute his suit", he could not and still cannot return to
Uganda due to well-founded fears for his safety which existed at the time
the initial communication was filed in May 2009, and which continue to
exist today.
11 UHRC in its 2008 Annual Report acknowledged that there has been improvement in funding as
reflected in the financial year 2008/2009 budget allocations.
Communication 299/205- A1mauk Justice Council v Ethiopia, para. 51 .
12