The death of the Attorney General, Francis Ayume, halted...

The death of the Attorney General, Francis Ayume, halted the hearing of a petition in which 417 condemned prisoners were challenging the death penalty. The petition was due for hearing in the Constitutional Court on May 20.
The Solicitor General, Mr Lucian Tibaruha, wrote to the court saying the Attorney General's office could not proceed with the hearing of the petition because its senior lawyers would be involved in the burial arrangements for their boss. Ayume died in a motor accident in Nakasongola district on his return from Masindi the night of May 15.
Tibaruha's letter dated May 17, 2004 was copied to Katende, Sempebwa & Co. Advocates, who were representing the petitioners. The petitioners were on death row in Luzira Prison and Kirinya Prison in Jinja. They had contended that the death penalty provided for in the Penal Code Act was inconsistent with Uganda's Constitution.
The petitioners stated that the death penalty amounted to torture and cruelty contrary to Article 44(a) of the Constitution. The Court adjourned the hearing indefinitely.
They stated that upon being sentenced to death, the convicts underwent horrifying physical and mental torture while awaiting execution.
The petitioners wanted the death penalty to be nullified because it infringed the convicts' right to life as guaranteed under the Constitution.