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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has put in place interim measures aimed at strengthening capacity to fight crime collaboratively on an international scale with hopes of coming up with a law in future to deal with the same.
The interim measures launched on Thursday in Kampala dubbed “Mutual Legal Assistance Guidelines” are designed to facilitate collaboration by providing a clear framework for cooperation between Uganda and other nations and show a structured framework for requesting and providing assistance in criminal matters.
According to the Director of Public Prosecutions Jane Frances Abodo, the guidelines aim at streamlining processes by simplifying and expediting the process through which requests for legal assistance are made and responded to which will reduce delayed that often hinder investigations and Prosecutions of transnational cases.
She added that the Guidelines will serve as a training tool for law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judicial officers equipping them with the knowledge necessary to navigate the often perceived complex trans-boundary procedures.
“These Guidelines also aim at collaboration by fostering better communication between various stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, Prosecutors and international partners. This will create a more cohesive approach to tackling transnational crime,” Abodo said.
Abodo has further revealed that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni advised that the guidelines should be an interim measure as immediate steps are being taken towards the process of enactment of the Mutual Legal Assistance Law.
The law is still at its earliest stages as there is a task force to conduct a regulatory impact assessment which was recently formed with officers from the DPP’S Office, Attorney General, Police, Immigration and the Financial Intelligence Authority.
Abodo states that the taskforce is in the final stages of completing the Regulatory Impact Assessment -RIA. She appealed all stake holders in the Justice system to embrace the Guidelines wholeheartedly so as to build a safer crime-free Uganda through enhanced inter agency and international cooperation.
On his part, the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka who presided over the launch said that the Mutual Legal Assistance Law should be fast tracked so as to keep Uganda as an island of peace in the region.
He said once the peace of the country is threatened by criminality such as through organized crimes, it also becomes a threat to peace and development.
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