Communication 431/12 – Thomas Kwoyelo v. Uganda
Complainant submits that the Supreme Court, without legal reason, has
perpetuated the illegal detention of the Victim.
69. The Complainant draws the attention of the Commission to the period between 11
November 2011, when the trial of the Victim was ceased and no fresh charges
proffered against him, to 30 March 2012, when the Supreme Court stayed all orders
from the Constitutional Court. This period of detention, according to the
Complainant, was particularly unlawful and violated Article 6 of the African
Charter as there were no pending charges against the Victim yet the Respondent
State refused to release him and kept him in arbitrary detention without any
indication of when his trial would take place.
70. The Complainant submits that rights and freedoms of the Victim should only be
deprived as stipulated by domestic and international law, and all other
circumstances clearly constitute a violation of the right to security and liberty of
the Victim, amounting to arbitrary detention in violation of Article 6 of the Charter.
Alleged Violation of Article 7
71. Relying on the decision of the Commission in Haregewoin Gebre-Sellaise &
IHRDA (on behalf of former Dergue officials) v. Ethiopia, the Complainant
submits that ‘the right to an impartial hearing within a reasonable time is one of
the cardinal elements of the right to a fair trial. The Article [Article 7] is specially
designed to ensure that the charges which the penal procedure places on the
individual are not unremittingly protracted and do not produce permanent harm.
An individual who is accused and held in custody is entitled to have his or her
case resolved on a priority basis and conducted with diligence.’
72. The Complainant asserts that on 30 March 2012, the Supreme Court stayed the
execution of any consequential orders arising from Constitutional Reference No.
17
62nd Ordinary Session, 25 April – 9 July 2018