Depending on the situation different persons can be competent to make an arrest.
Arrest with warrant
Magistrate
At any time any magistrate may arrest or direct the arrest of any person in her/his presence. The magistrate must be competent at the time of the arrest, and the arrest must occur within the local limits of her/his jurisdiction.
Police officer
A warrant of arrest may be directed to one or more police officers or chiefs named in it or generally to all police officers or chiefs.
Private person
A warrant can be directed to any person if its immediate execution is necessary and no police officer or chief is immediately available (section 58 sub.2 of the Magistrates courts act).
Arrest without warrant
Police officer
Any police officer may – without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant – arrest any person who:
- any person whom a police officer suspects upon reasonable grounds of having committed a cognisable offence or nuisances and offences against health and convenience;
- any person who commits a breach of the peace in the presence of a police officer;
- any person who obstructs a police officer while in the execution of her/his duty
- any person who has escaped or attempts to escape from lawful custody;
- any person whom a police officer suspects upon reasonable grounds of being a deserter from the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces;
- any person whom a police officer finds during the night and whom she/he suspects upon reasonable grounds of having committed or being about to commit a felony;
- any person whom a police officer suspects of having been concerned in any act committed out of Uganda which, if committed in Uganda, would have been punishable as an offence;
- any person having in her/his possession – without lawful excuse – any implement of housebreaking;
- any person for whom a police officer has reasonable cause to believe a warrant of arrest has been issued;
- any person in whose possession anything is found which may reasonably be suspected to be stolen property or who may reasonably be suspected of having committed an offence with reference to that thing;
- any person who in the presence of a police officer has committed or has been accused of committing a non-cognizable offence refuses on the demand of the officer to give her/his true name and residence.
The person arrested shall be brought – without unnecessary delay – before a magistrate having jurisdiction in the case or a police officer in charge of a police station. However it should be noticed that the Ugandan law does not define “unnecessary delay”.
Officer in charge of a police station
Any officer in charge of a police station may – without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant – arrest or cause to be arrested:
- any person found taking precautions to conceal her/his presence within the limits of that station under circumstances which afford reason to believe that she/he is taking the precautions with a view to committing a cognisable offence;
- any person within the limits of that station who has no ostensible means of subsistence or who cannot give a satisfactory account of her/himself;
- any person who is by repute an habitual robber, housebreaker or thief, or an habitual receiver of stolen property knowing it to be stolen, or who by repute habitually commits extortion habitually puts or attempts to put persons in fear of injurypossession of any implement for housebreaking.
Officers in charge of police stations shall report to the nearest magistrate within 48 hours the cases of all persons arrested without warrant within the limits of their respective stations, whether the persons have been admitted to bail or otherwise.
A police officer on arresting a suspect without a warrant shall produce the suspect before a magistrate’s court within 48 hours, unless earlier released on bond.
Private person
Any private person may arrest any person:
- who in her/his view commits a cognizable offence;
- whom she/he reasonably suspects of having committed a felony.
An owner of the property or her/his servants or person she/he authorized may arrest – without a warrant – a person found committing an offence involving injury to her/his property .
The private person shall – without unnecessary delay – bring the person arrested before a police officer, or in the absence of a police officer to the nearest police station. If there is no sufficient reason to believe that the person arrested has committed any offence, she/he shall be released immediately.
Legislation:
- Section 58 of the Magistrates courts act
- Section 10 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 11 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 13 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 14 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 15 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 16 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 18 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 20 of the Criminal procedure code act
- Section 25 sub.1 of the Police act
For more informations:
- Avocats Sans Frontières, “Presumed innocent behind bars: The problem of lengthy pre-trial detention in Uganda”, 2011, p.12