Members of the Community Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee taking notes during a training. Photos are by John Semakula, edited by Jennifer Westmorland.

A group of 10 individuals were selected and trained to become a criminal justice committee. The committee has been monitoring and scrutinising criminal justice practices in Kikwanda in order to bridge the gap between those working in the justice system and members of the community. To some extent, there has been damage and loss of faith in the criminal justice system of Uganda. Before Robert’s JusticeMakers project, those suffering from human rights violations did not have anywhere they could report their injustices to.

Volunteer lawyer Vincent Katuba (left) with members of the criminal justice monitoring committee. The committees consisted of a diverse membership – both men and women, and a range of age groups.

Now, however, the people of Kikwanda can request the help of the committees who report to Robert’s organisation the problems people need help with. In turn, Robert’s organisation provides advice and recommendations as to how the problems may be resolved. The work carried out by Robert has helped women such as Kizza, who is 70 years old and lives with her son in Kikwanda village. She depends solely on growing food in the small plot of land she owns in the village. Last year, Kizza sold off a piece of land to her neighbour for a small amount of money; the neighbour paid Kizza half of the money in cash and promised to pay the remaining balance a month later. However, 9 months later, the outstanding balance had not been paid. Kizza was informed by a member of Robert’s criminal justice committee that she would be helped if she went to the head offices. At the head offices Kizza met with Robert, who introduced her to one of the organisation’s volunteer lawyers. He was able to give Kizza a free legal consultation and resolve the dispute; Kizza was paid the outstanding balance owed within two weeks of Robert’s help.

Kizza aged 70 (right), who was helped thanks to Robert’s project.

Following the completion of the project Robert distributed evaluation forms to the people of Kikwanda. This was to determine the impact and effectiveness of his project for the community. Robert was met with an incredibly positive response – when asked if the project was beneficial and if they would like the project to continue 100% answered yes to both questions.

Scanned copies of the evaluation forms Robert handed out to the people of Kikwanda. The comments were translated by the committee members, and some were even filled-out on behalf of those can not write. The first one reads “We want lawyers to be available everyday to help us with law.” And the second says “I want the lawyers to keep around because they have helped in many ways.”

The evaluation forms demonstrated the high demand for projects such as Robert’s. A large number of people wrote requests for more lawyers to be available, more often, in the comments box of the evaluation form.

Patrick Semakula (left) and Vincent Katuba (right) are volunteers lawyers who assisted Robert with his JusticeMakers project.

Patrick Semakula, a volunteer lawyer who helped Robert, indicated the benefits of the project when he explained that the majority of people living in rural areas, such as Kikwanda, have never had direct contact with a lawyer before.

“According to the residents of the village, no lawyer or magistrate has ever visited the place (Kikwanda) on legal matters;” said Patrick Semakula, “so they (members of the community) were shocked when we introduced ourselves as lawyers.”

The people of Kikwanda have now been educated on their rights and know who to turn to when there is an injustice; thanks to the committees, the correct procedures of the justice system are being followed.

The project was officially launched on 19th July 2009 at Kikwanda primary school and was attended by over 70 community members and leaders, including a political representative of the president, Rtd. Major David Matovu. The launch of the project was covered by a local newspaper Bukedde and a radio station Dunamis FM.

 Rtd. Major David Matovu officially launching Robert’s JusticeMakers project and addressing members of the Kikwanda community.

JusticeMakers fellow Robert Kibaya (second from left) with Rtd. Major David Matovu (third from right) after the opening ceremony of the project.

Earlier in July, a young man was arrested, beaten and then later burnt to death because he was merely suspected of being involved in the theft of cattle.  This is an exemple of the kind of injustices Robert and his team are trying to combat.

Robert has been training a group of community members to form the ‘Community Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee’. The aim of the committee is to scrutinize criminal justice practices in the community. To achieve this, the participants are trained with basic criminal justice skills and conduct workshops and awareness campaigns to inform villagers of who to contact if they experience an injustice. The committee will also counsel to villagers as to the correct procedures to follow if a crime has been perpetrated.  The trained committee members then report to Robert’s organization, Kikwanda Rural communities Development Organisation (KIRUCODO), about the problems. In turn, the organization provides guidance to the committee and recommends a course of action.

Robert addressing applicants to the Community Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee during the training.

When Robert proposed the Community Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee he was flooded by prospective candidates, with applicants far exceeding the number of positions availble. The training of the applicants took place on 23rd July 2009 for 4 days. The training covered the main laws that apply to criminal trials such as: the Police Act, Prison Act, Criminal Procedure Code Act, and The Magistrate Courts Act. Robert was helped by two visiting lawyers: Mr. Patrick Semakula and Mr. Vincent Katuba.  Trainees consisted of young men and women, and senior citizens from the surrounding villages.  Even those who were unsuccessful in their application to the committee were allowed to attend the training. Robert felt that this would help to broaden the scope and reach of the JusticeMakers project.

After the recruitment and training of committee members, local leaders praised the work of Robert and the leadership of his organization for developing this project in rural communities.

 “The communities have faced enough injustice out of ignorance.” said Patrick Semakula, a visiting lawyer. “We feel the time is ripe for them, armed with the necessary information, to fight for their own rights and freedoms.” 

Visiting lawyers Vincent Katuba (left) and Patrick Semakula (middle) with JusticeMakers fellow Robert Kibaya (right).

Inspired by the work of Robert, Patrick and his colleague Vincent have opened a Legal Aid Clinic in Kikwanda village. The clinic will support Robert’s JusticeMakers project by providing free legal consultation and advice for members of the Kikwanda community.

The problem is exacerbated as those living in the farming villages surrounding Kikwanda are often illiterate and have difficulty understanding complex legal documents and procedures. Moreover, there is no tap water, electricity, medical centre (the nearest is 8 miles), internet services (the nearest is about 12 miles away) and ill-maintained roads.

Due to the poverty and poor social infrastructures in the area, crime rate is quite high. If a suspect is arrested, they can be detained in a police cell for weeks – far exceeding the 48 hours as stated in the Ugandan consitution. Additionally, the victim does not know what to do if actors in the criminal justice system fail to help them when a crime has been committed.

Working to bridge the gap between the criminal justice service actors and the community is Robert Kibaya a 2008 JusticeMakers Fellow.

JusticeMakers Fellow 2008, Robert Kibaya. 

Robert’s passion is community work and rural development.  In 2006 he established an NGO in his local community of Kikwanda called Kikwanda Rural communities Development Organisation (KIRUCODO) with the aim of empowering villagers through skills development and training.

Robert Kibaya addressing members of the Kikwanda community and briefing them on his JusticeMakers project. 

The $5,000 grant is being used by Robert to establish the Rural Communities Criminal Justice Awareness Project (RCC-JAP).  The project is working to monitor and evaluate criminal justice procedures in rural villages. Robert also wants to generate greater rights awareness in rural communities through trainings and campaigns held in the villages.

Banner announcing the establishment of the RCC-JAP in partnership with IBJ. 

Follow Robert on:

Facebook – Robert Kibaya, rob_kib@yahoo.com

Twitter – KIRUCODO

KIRUCODO’s blog – https://ruralafricafacts.wordpress.com/author/robkib/