President Yoweri Museveni said that some criminals on the death row at Luzira Maximum Prison must be hanged to send a lesson to the criminals outside the Prison gates. The President’s comments came as he presided over the pass out of the Prison Officers. According to Museveni, he has been so soft on criminals. “Because we must hang some of these people. If you see the way they kill people, they really need a lesson. We have been too soft I think they have misunderstood it.” Said, Yoweri Museveni – President of Uganda.
Museveni last signed a death warrant for the execution of death row prisoners at Luzira Prison in 1999 and Military Courts in 2005. 27 people in Luzira Prison including Musa Sebilumbi as Uganda People’s Congress 2 were found guilty of killing Edinard Lutamaguzi who hid fighters of the National Resistance Army were hanged then. Currently, there are 160 inmates including 6 women at Luzira Prison who are on death row. “Being too lenient is also becoming a problem. Or the criminals think that they have a right to kill people and then just keep their own heads. So I think I am going to revise a bit and hang a few.”
However, some human rights defenders who have for years campaigned for the abolition of death penalty in the country have criticized the President’s comments. “Our considered opinion is that by executing these people the crime rate will not actually go down. Because it has been proven scientifically that the death penalty is not a deterrent crime. The answer lies in strengthening the institutions that are charged with maintaining law and order.” Said, Livingstone Sewanyana – Executive Director, FHRI.
In 2009, the Supreme Court in a Landmark case while upholding the death sentence, ruled that death sentence is not mandatory and at the sentence of the death row convict is automatically turned into life imprisonment if they are not executed within three years. A total of 919 Prison Officers who completed 9 months of training were passed out during the exercise. The Commissioner General of Prisons Johnson Byabashaija asked for more resources to be allocated to the Prison Services to enable them to invest in industry and agriculture. “I want to build the production infrastructure systems of the maize grain production, of the maize seed production and of the cotton. We are still negotiating with the Ministry of Finance for some credit financing.” Said, Johnson Byabashaija – Commissioner General, Uganda Prisons Services.
“I’m surprised to hear that the issue of equipment to support you to do the furniture is not yet solved. If my staff can remind me, I will make sure that in the next budget we solve that issue.” Museveni also commissioned low-cost housing units built by the Prisons Services. “You army people forget about using tenders, do the work yourselves because in that case you only look for money to buy materials.” Said, President Museveni.
