Over 5,000 prisoners in Uganda are serving time beyond their legal sentences, according to a new report by Parliament’s Committee on Human Rights, sparking concern over delays in the justice system and violations of inmates’ rights.
The revelation was made by the committee chairperson, Fox Odoi, who said the finding followed consultations with key justice sector institutions, including the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Judiciary, and the Uganda Prisons Service.
“We had a meeting with the Attorney General, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Uganda Prisons, and the Judiciary, and we received a list of well over 5,000 people who have been detained for prolonged periods,” Odoi told Parliament.
“We have the list as a committee, and our report is ready to be presented,” he noted
The findings come amid growing criticism over Uganda’s clogged justice system, where long case backlogs and limited prosecutorial capacity have left many prisoners languishing on remand for years without trial or beyond their lawful detention periods.
Responding to the matter, Attorney General Kiwanuka Kiryowa defended the prison service, emphasizing that all inmates were lawfully committed to prison by courts.
“There is no prisoner in prison who has not been there by virtue of an order of court. Prisons only receive warrants from courts,” Kiryowa said,
He added that his ministry was working “tirelessly” with the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review cases where detainees might have spent longer in custody than their potential sentences.
Kiryowa admitted that a shortage of state prosecutors remains one of the biggest bottlenecks to timely justice delivery, despite recent efforts to recruit more.
“There are people whose cases we’ve taken only prosecutes because the time they have been on remand may be longer than the time they would have served for the charge they face,” he explained.
“Every district now has a chief magistrate, every constituency has a Grade One magistrate but we don’t have enough prosecutors.”
He revealed that the ministry has requested for more funding in the 2025/2026 financial year to recruit additional prosecutors and ease the case backlog.
“A person is in court, the magistrate is there, but we don’t have a prosecutor… We are working hard to get these people processed,” Kiryowa added.
The Human Rights Committee’s report, expected to be tabled before Parliament soon, will include recommendations to strengthen oversight within Uganda’s justice chain and ensure that no inmate is held beyond the period sanctioned by law.
Human rights advocates have long warned that such prolonged detentions not only violate constitutional rights but also worsen overcrowding in the country’s already congested prisons.
