Uganda's Attorney General has opposed the constitutional...

Uganda's Attorney General has opposed the constitutional petition signed by 417 death row inmates against the death penalty, reported New Vision.
The AG said the right to life was not compromised in cases of a death sentence passed by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offence under the law.
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.
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.
However, the Attorney General stated that the right to life is not compromised in the case of those sentenced to death under law by a competent tribunal.