Communication 431/12 – Thomas Kwoyelo v. Uganda was violation of prohibition of arbitrary detention or due process of law for the time between March and June 2009. 222. In June 2009, the Victim was charged with various offences under Uganda’s penal code, and was handed over by the UPDF to the Ugandan Police for prosecution. He was accordingly transferred to Gulu Prison (Northern Uganda) then to Luzia Upper Prison (Central Uganda). 223. The Commission is of the view that from the moment criminal charges were pressed against him and he was informed of the same, that is June 2009, the Victim has the right to exercise all his fair trial related rights under the African Charter. 224. As pointed out earlier, the detention and subsequent treatment of the Victim by the Ugandan Police after criminal charges were instituted against him will be assessed in light of the provisions of the African Charter with no recourse to the standards under IHL. 225. In this regard, the Complainant contends that nearly a year passed after the Victim’s arrest in March 2009 before he was allowed access to legal counsel or next of kin. The Complainant does not give the exact date or month when the Victim was allowed to have access to legal counsel. The Complainant fleetingly states that he was allowed access only almost a year after he was captured. This means, the Commission assumes, sometime in early 2010 since he was captured in March 2009. 226. As established above, formal criminal charges were pressed against Mr. Kwoyelo in June 2009, and hence that is the cut-off point where he can start claiming and the state is obliged to respect and protect all his fair trial related rights. 61 62nd Ordinary Session, 25 April – 9 July 2018