Accountable Independence and the Discipline of Prosecutorial Power in Uganda: A critical analysis after Ongoriya Moses and Another v Uganda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61424/gz5fr798Keywords:
Prosecutorial accountability, prosecutorial independence, judicial review, victim participation, plea bargainingAbstract
Article 120(5)(6) of Uganda’s Constitution does not pit prosecutorial independence and accountability against each other; it makes each a condition of the other. This article advances the concept of accountable independence, arguing that clause (6) protects who decides by insulating the Director of Public Prosecutions from external direction or control, while clause (5) disciplines how that power is exercised through public interest, the administration of justice and prevention of abuse of legal process. Through Ongoriya Moses and Another v Uganda, the article demonstrates that neither constitutional command permits power beyond law. The prosecutor irregularly altered a murder indictment, retained contradictory particulars, failed to record coherent reasons and excluded mandatory victim consultation. Those failures demanded accountability, but could not create judicial jurisdiction. Having found the High Court review incompetent, the Court of Appeal nevertheless invoked section 11 of the Judicature Act to nullify the conviction and order retrial. The central constitutional danger which Ongoriya reveals is that judicial overreach cannot cure prosecutorial unaccountability.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Angutoko Immaculate Draru, Nakanyike Bushira, Masinde Barbara, Amerit Timothy, Nakayiza Justine (Author)
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