Chapter 8

UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLIES, RIOTS AND OTHER OFFENCES AGAINST PUBLIC TRANQUILLITY.

56. Unlawful society.

(1) A society means any combination of two or more persons whether the society is known by any name or not.

(2) A society is an unlawful society—

(a) if formed for any of the following purposes or if it encourages or supports any such purpose—

(i) levying war or encouraging or assisting any person to levy war on the Government or the inhabitants of any part of Uganda;

(ii) killing or injuring or inciting to the killing or injuring of any person;

(iii) destroying or injuring or inciting to the destruction or injuring of any property;

(iv) subverting or promoting the subversion of the Government or of its officials;

(v) committing or inciting to acts of violence or intimidation;

(vi) interfering with or resisting or inciting to interference with or resistance to the administration of the law; or

(vii) disturbing or inciting to the disturbance of peace and order in any part of Uganda; or

(b) if prior to the 1st October, 1959, it was declared by an order of the Governor in Council to be a society dangerous to the good government of Uganda; or

(3) Where a society is an unlawful society by virtue of a declaration by an order of the Minister made under subsection (2)(c) and another society is formed after such declaration—

(a) having, subject to section 61(5), any of the same office bearers as the unlawful society;

(b) having a name similar to that of the unlawful society; or

(c) having substantially the same membership as the unlawful society, such society shall be deemed to be an unlawful society.

57. Managing unlawful society.

Any person who manages or assists in the management of an unlawful society commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

58. Offences in relation to an unlawful society.

Any person who— (a) is or holds himself or herself out as being a member of an unlawful society;

(b) knowingly allows a meeting of an unlawful society or of any members of an unlawful society to be held in any house, building or enclosed or unenclosed place belonging to or occupied by him or her or over which he or she has control; or

(c) utters any speech or prints, publishes, sells, offers or exposes for sale or distributes any publication as defined by section 33, which, in the opinion of the court is likely or calculated to encourage the support of an unlawful society, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years.

59. Restrictions on office bearers.

(1) Subject to section 61(5), no person who at the time of the declaration of a society to be a society dangerous to peace and order in Uganda under section 56(2)(c) was an office bearer of that society shall be, remain or become an office bearer in or shall otherwise manage or assist in the management of any other society, other than a society solely concerned with trade or commerce.

(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.

60. Definition of office bearer.

For the purpose of this Chapter, “office bearer”, in relation to a society, means any person who—

(a) is the patron, president, vice president, chairman, deputy chairman, secretary or treasurer of such society;

(b) is a member of the committee or governing or executive body of the society; or

61. Miscellaneous provisions relating to unlawful societies.

(1) A prosecution for an offence under section 57, 58 or 59 shall not be instituted except with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions; except that a person charged with such an offence may be arrested, or a warrant for his or her arrest may be issued and executed, and any such person may be remanded in custody or on bail, notwithstanding that the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions to the institution of a prosecution for the offence has not been obtained; but no further or other proceedings shall be taken until that consent has been obtained.

(2) Notwithstanding any rule of law or practice to the contrary, in any prosecution for an offence mentioned in subsection (1), for the purpose of establishing the existence of a society, evidence may be adduced and shall be admitted which—

(a) shows that any person is reputed to be a member of such society;

(b) shows that any announcement has been made, whether by the person charged or by any other person, by any means, that the society has been formed or is in existence; or

(3) Any person who attends a meeting of an unlawful society shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be a member of the society.

(4) Any person who has in his or her possession or custody or under his or her control any of the insignia, banners, arms, books, papers, documents or other property belonging to an unlawful society, or wears any of the insignia, or is marked with any mark of the society, shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be a member of the society.

(5) Any office bearer of an unlawful society shall be permitted to become an office bearer of another society or may manage or assist in the management of another society two years after the date on which the unlawful society became unlawful or at any time if the Minister gives him or her permission.

62. Powers in relation to unlawful societies.

(1) Any peace officer, and any police officer authorised in writing by a peace officer, may enter with or without assistance any house or building or into any place in which he or she has reason to believe that a meeting of an unlawful society, or of persons who are members of an unlawful society, is being held, and arrest or cause to be arrested all persons found therein and search such house, building or place, and seize or cause to be seized all insignia, banners, arms, books, papers, documents and other property which he or she may have reasonable cause to believe to belong to any unlawful society or to be in any way connected with the purpose of the meeting.

(2) For the purposes of this section, “peace officer” means any magistrate or any police officer not below the rank of assistant superintendent of police.

63. Disposition of property of unlawful societies.

(1) When a society is declared to be an unlawful society by an order of the Minister, the following consequences shall ensue—

(a) the property of the society within Uganda shall forthwith vest in an officer appointed by the Minister;

(b) the officer appointed by the Minister shall proceed to wind up the affairs of the society, and after satisfying and providing for all debts and liabilities of the society and the cost of the winding up, if there shall then be any surplus assets shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme for the application of such surplus assets;

(c) such scheme, when submitted for approval, may be amended by the Minister in such way as he or she shall think proper in the circumstances of the case;

(d) the approval of the Minister to such scheme shall be denoted by the endorsement thereon of a memorandum of such approval signed by him or her, and upon this being done, the surplus assets, the subject of the scheme, shall be held by such officer upon the terms and to the purposes thereby prescribed;

(e) for the purpose of the winding up, the officer appointed by the Minister shall have all the powers vested in the official receiver for the purpose of the discovering of the property of a debtor and the realisation thereof.

(2) The Minister may, for the purposes of enabling a society to wind up its own affairs, suspend the operation of this section for such period as to him or her shall seem expedient.

(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any property seized at any time under section 62.

64. Forfeiture of insignia, etc.

Subject to section 63, the insignia, banners, arms, books, papers, documents and other property belonging to an unlawful society shall be forfeited to the Government, and shall be dealt with in such manner as the Minister may direct.

65. Definition of unlawful assembly and riot.

(1) When three or more persons assemble with intent to commit an offence, or being assembled with intent to carry out some common purpose, conduct themselves in such a manner as to cause persons in the neighbourhood reasonably to fear that the persons so assembled will commit a breach of the peace or will by such assembly needlessly and without any reasonable occasion provoke other persons to commit a breach of the peace, they are an unlawful assembly.

(2) It is immaterial that the original assembling was lawful if, being assembled, they conduct themselves with a common purpose in the manner described in subsection (1).

(3) When an unlawful assembly has begun to execute the purpose for which it assembled by a breach of the peace and to the terror of the public, the assembly is called a riot, and the persons assembled are said to be riotously assembled.

66. Punishment for unlawful assembly.

Any person who takes part in an unlawful assembly commits a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year.

67. Punishment for riot.

Any person who takes part in a riot commits a misdemeanour.

68. Proclamation for rioters to disperse.

Any magistrate or, in his or her absence, any police officer of or above the rank of inspector, or any commissioned officer in the armed forces of Uganda, in whose view twelve or more persons are riotously assembled, or who apprehends that a riot is about to be committed by twelve or more persons assembled within his or her view, may make or cause to be made a proclamation in the President’s name, in such form as he or she thinks fit, commanding the rioters or persons so assembled to disperse peaceably.

69. Dispersal of rioters.

If upon the expiration of a reasonable time after the proclamation is made, or after the making of the proclamation has been prevented by force, twelve or more persons continue riotously assembled together, any person authorised to make the proclamation, or any police officer or any other person acting in aid of that person or police officer, may do all things necessary for dispersing the persons so continuing assembled or for apprehending them or any of them, and if any person makes resistance, may use all such force as is reasonably necessary for overcoming such resistance and shall not be liable in any criminal or civil proceeding for having, by the use of such force, caused harm or death to any person.

70. Rioting after proclamation.

If a proclamation is made commanding the persons engaged in a riot or assembled with the purpose of committing a riot to disperse, every person who, at or after the expiration of a reasonable time from the making of the proclamation, takes or continues to take part in the riot or assembly, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for five years.

71. Preventing or obstructing the making of proclamation.

Any person who forcibly prevents or obstructs any person making a proclamation under section 68 commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for ten years; and if the making of the proclamation is so prevented, every person who knowing that it has been so prevented takes or continues to take part in the riot or assembly is liable to imprisonment for five years.

72. Rioters demolishing buildings, etc.

Any persons who, being riotously assembled together, unlawfully pull down or destroy or begin to pull down or destroy any building, railway, machinery, structure or property commits a felony and each of them is liable to imprisonment for life.

73. Rioters injuring buildings, machinery, etc.

Any persons who, being riotously assembled together, unlawfully damage any of the things mentioned in section 72 commits a felony, and each of them is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

74. Riotously preventing or hindering the loading, etc. of railway

wagons, etc. All persons are guilty of a misdemeanour who, being riotously assembled, unlawfully and with force prevent, hinder or obstruct the loading or unloading of any railway wagon or coach or vehicle or vessel, or the starting or transit of any railway wagon or coach or vehicle or the sailing or navigating of any vessel, or unlawfully and with force board any railway wagon or coach or vehicle or vessel with intent so to do.

75. Going armed in certain places.

Any person who carries a dangerous or offensive weapon— (a) at any public gathering; or (b) in any place where intoxicating liquor is normally or is being consumed, commits an offence and on first conviction is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding five thousand shillings or to both such imprisonment and fine; and on any subsequent conviction, the offender is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings or to both such imprisonment and fine.

76. Going armed in public.

Any person who carries an offensive weapon in public without lawful occasion in such a manner as to be liable to cause terror to any person commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for five years.

77. Forcible entry.

Any person who, in order to take possession thereof, enters on any lands or tenements in a violent manner, whether such violence consists in actual force applied to any other person or in threats or in breaking open any house or in collecting an unusual number of people, commits the misdemeanour termed forcible entry; it is immaterial whether he or she is entitled to enter on the land or not; except that a person who enters upon lands or tenements of his or her own, but which are in the custody of his or her servant or bailiff, does not commit the offence of forcible entry.

78. Forcible detainer.

Any person who, being in actual possession of land without colour of right, holds possession of it in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, or reasonable apprehension of a breach of the peace, against a person entitled by law to the possession of the land commits the misdemeanour termed forcible detainer.

79. Affray.

Any person who takes part in a fight in a public place commits a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year.

80. Challenge to fight a duel.

Any person who challenges another to fight a duel, or attempts to provoke another to fight a duel or attempts to provoke any person to challenge another to fight a duel, commits a misdemeanour.

81. Threatening violence.

Any person who— (a) with intent to intimidate or annoy any person, threatens to injure, assault, shoot or kill any person, or to burn, break or injure any property; or

(b) with intent to alarm any person, discharges a firearm or commits any other breach of the peace, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding four years.

82. Watching and besetting.

(1) Any person who watches or besets—

(a) any premises or the approaches to the premises with a view to preventing any other person from doing any act which the other person has a legal right to do thereat; or

(b) the house or other place where any other person resides or works or carries on business, or happens to be, or the approaches to that house or place with a view to preventing the other person from doing or compelling him or her to do any act which the other person has a legal right to do or abstain from doing, commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment; except that this section shall not apply to any watching or besetting which is lawful under the provisions of any law relating to trade unions or trade disputes.

(2) A person shall not be prosecuted for an offence under this section without the written consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

83. Incitement to violence.

(1) Any person who incites any other person to do an act of violence against any person by reason of his or her race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex or office commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), “office” means the office of a Minister of the Government, a member of Parliament or a councillor, a public office, employment in the service of the administration of a district or the council or board of a municipality or town, any religious office and employment as a director, officer or other official in or by any body corporate established by or under the auspices of or controlled by the Government.

84. Assembling for the purpose of smuggling.

Any persons who assemble together to the number of two or more for the purpose of unshipping, carrying or concealing any goods subject to customs duty and liable to forfeiture under any law relating to the customs commits a felony, and each of them is liable to imprisonment for five years.

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