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@UgandanLawyer Consider this process as the first positive step towards resolution of the unfortunate murder of the victim (RIPAkena). There is a place for conciliatory process in our society and these have worked, traditionally and even daily in community justice systems. https://twitter.com/UgandanLawyer/status/1305067103800700929
There is the criminal justice system and there is alternative dispute resolution. The criminal justice system focuses on the crime, the law and the punishment. A confession and an apology however sincere does not erase the elements of the mainstream criminal justice system.
As it is, neither family nor community pardon erases the charge against the accussd. There still stands a substantive charge against the accused which has to be concluded through the mainstream criminal justice system. @UgandanLawyer
Within the criminal justice system in Uganda is the option of Plea Bargain supported by the Judicature Plea Bargain Rules. The matoput exercise conducted could be further channelled through the plea bargain option which allows the accused to confess and plead for leniency.
That, in my view is where the traditional/community confession and reconciliation process can meet the main stream criminal justice to serve the interests of the state, court, the victim & his family and the accused. This is of course a mitigation factor for a lesser sentence.
