KAMPALA, Uganda — The High Court has found that Kengo Ismail’s detention beyond the constitutional 48-hour limit violated his right to personal liberty and awarded him UGX 10 million in general damages, in a ruling that also removed the Inspector General of Police from the case.
Justice Collins Acellam, in a decision delivered on July 24, 2026, said Ismail was held for more than the time allowed under Article 23(4) of Uganda’s Constitution. The case arose from an application for enforcement of human rights brought under Articles 50 and 26 of the Constitution, the Human Rights (Enforcement) Act, and the Judicature human rights enforcement rules.
According to court records, Ismail told the court that he was arrested on January 2, 2024, at M/s Exim Bank Uganda Limited on allegations of theft, then arraigned on January 5 and remanded to Luzira Prison after spending more than 48 hours in custody. He also said he was rearrested on February 10, 2024, taken to CPS Kampala, held for more than 48 hours without being produced in court, and later released on police bond on February 20. He further claimed he was arrested again on March 21, 2024, shortly after leaving the Chief Magistrates Court at Buganda Road, held overnight, and released the next day without charges.
The application also challenged the police seizure and continued retention of Ismail’s duplicate certificate of title for land comprised in Kyaggwe Block 119 Plot 242. Ismail said the title had been registered in his name on November 15, 2012, long before he joined Exim Bank, and argued that it had no connection to the criminal allegations against him. He said his lawyers wrote to police on May 20, 2024, seeking return of the title, and later contacted the Chief Resident State Attorney on June 28, 2024, but the document was not returned.
The respondents, represented by the Attorney General’s chambers, argued through affidavits filed by State Attorney Diane Hope Masawi and investigating officer D/IP Francis Kateega that the application was based on falsehoods and conjecture and should be struck out. They said police were acting within their mandate to protect life and property, prevent and detect crime, and maintain law and order. They also said Ismail was arrested on January 2, 2024, and charged on January 5 with theft of UGX 144,545,225 from Exim Bank.
Justice Acellam said he found that the detention beyond 48 hours violated Ismail’s right to personal liberty. “I therefore find that the Applicant’s detention beyond the constitutionally prescribed forty-eight (48) hours violated his right to personal liberty under Article 23(4) of the Constitution,” he ruled. On that basis, he said Ismail was entitled to compensation and awarded UGX 10 million in general damages.
The judge also held that the application could properly proceed only against the Attorney General, who represents the government in civil proceedings under the Constitution, and struck the Inspector General of Police off the case.
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