There were tears of joy in Domuru village, Maracha district, as two men accused of murder returned home after spending 13 years on remand without trial.
Jino Enzama and Angelo Adima were arrested in May 2013 following the death of a man who was reportedly killed by a mob and whose body was discovered in the area the following morning.
The duo was among six suspects arrested in connection with the incident. The suspects included two women who remain incarcerated in prisons in Koboko and Kotido districts. After their arrest, the group was arraigned before court in Koboko and remanded to Gbukutu Government Prison before being transferred to different prison facilities across the country.
Hundreds of residents lined the roads to welcome the two men home. Some sang and danced while others swept the road as the convoy carrying the former suspects travelled from Arua to Oleba.
Relatives and family members broke down in tears as they embraced the men, many of whom had feared they would never see them again. Enzama, a 62-year-old peasant farmer who served the entire period in Arua Prison, thanked God for protecting him throughout the ordeal. He urged young people to avoid wrongdoing, saying prison life comes at a heavy cost.
Despite the hardships, Enzama said he acquired skills such as soap making and basket weaving, which he hopes to use to earn a living as he gradually reintegrates into the community he left more than a decade ago.
Adima, now 61, served his remand period in prisons in Kitgum and later Kotido district. He said he never imagined he would one day return home. He urged people to live peacefully and avoid harbouring hatred, noting that life in prison is not something anyone should experience.
Speaking in Lugbara, Aida Onziru, Adima’s daughter, said she was devastated when her father was imprisoned and could not afford to travel to visit him in the various detention facilities where he was held.
Now a mother of three, Onziru expressed relief and happiness at finally seeing her father return home. She said the emotional and financial hardships caused by his detention forced her to drop out of school and get married.
Rev Fr Dominic Acema, curate of Oleba Catholic Parish, who presided over a thanksgiving Mass to welcome the two men home, urged residents to be law-abiding and avoid hatred and revenge.
“We are delighted to see our sons return home. This is a miracle in itself. Let us learn to forgive one another as Christ did and avoid revenge because it is a sin before God,” Fr Acema said.
Drawing from his own experience of being arrested by a police officer who later sought his blessing, Fr Acema urged those who may have falsely implicated the men and others still in prison to seek repentance and forgiveness.
Dozens of suspects continue to spend years on remand in prisons across Uganda due to factors such as prolonged investigations, lack of legal representation, land disputes, political persecution, ignorance of the law and weaknesses within the justice system.
The case has renewed concerns about prolonged pretrial detention and access to justice, particularly for suspects who lack the resources to secure legal representation or expedite their cases through the courts.
“The case has renewed concerns about prolonged pretrial detention and access to justice, particularly for suspects who lack the resources to secure legal representation or expedite their cases through the courts.” Now then one wants to ask the honourable magistrates who in his or her mind is going to watch such a spectacle. Where ones tax payers money is going to be paid out as compensation for such inefficient government administration. And this article explains properly that there are lots of suspects in lock-up prisons under remand or misjudgement prison sentences in this sovereign democratic country of Uganda! Is it so that this long serving government is going to continue to flung citizens in prisons for many years without any reason and without any compesations?