EACJ Adjourns Hearing of Terror Case Appeal

By East African Court of Justice Arusha (EACJ)

ARUSHA, Tanzania, April 26, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Appellate Division of the EACJ today adjourned hearing of Application No 1 of 2012 that pits Omar Awadhi and 6 Others against The Attorney General of Uganda pending determination of whether an Appeal by the latter was filed in time.

The Court found that neither party in the matter had provided the requisite certificate of delay from the EACJ Registrar as stipulated under Rule 86 (1) of EACJ Rules of Procedure which provides that “an appeal shall be instituted by lodging in the appropriate registry, within 30 days”.

Court therefore ordered the Registrar to provide it and the two parties the certificate of delay within 15 days in order to enable it determine whether the Appeal was filed within the time prescribed by the rules.

The Appeal, filed by the Ugandan government, is challenging the decision of the First Instance Division on the grounds of time over the arrest and handing over of Kenyan citizens by the Kenyan government to that of Uganda on suspicion of involvement in terror activities.

The Kenyan citizens in question are alleged to have played a part in the planning and execution of the bomb attacks in Kampala in July 2010 and were transferred to Uganda without recourse to established extradition procedures and due process of law as stipulated by the Kenyan Constitution. The hearing of the Appeal now rests upon the Appellate Division's decision in this matter.