Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about workers' rights, marriage, divorce, bail, child labour, and more
Bail
(16 questions)
Bail is where an accused person is released from prison before their trial but is required to come to court on the days when their case will be heard. It serves as a mechanism allowing defendants temporary freedom while awaiting trial, contingent upon their commitment to appear in court as scheduled.
Every accused person is entitled to apply to the court for bail while waiting for trial. The decision is up to the court to give or not to give bail to an accused person. Any person facing criminal charges has the right to request bail, though the court has discretion to grant or deny this request.
The conditions include: the accused must have a permanent home; must have substantial surety or sureties; must demonstrate they will appear in court without fleeing; must promise not to interfere with police investigations; cannot threaten the complainant or witnesses; the court evaluates criminal history; the severity of the offence; and the harshness of potential punishment.
A surety is a person who appears in court and promises that the accused will come to court for trial if released on bail. This individual accepts financial responsibility by agreeing to pay a fixed sum to the government if the accused fails to appear.
A substantial surety must: be a responsible person in society; have no criminal background; own a traceable home occupied for six or more months; be at least 21 years old; possess sound mental health; demonstrate ability to supervise the accused; be respectable and of good behaviour.
To serve as a surety, you need: a letter of introduction from your LC 1 chairperson that is signed and stamped; valid identification such as a driving permit, passport, voter's card, or national ID; and sometimes the court may require a deposit of a certain amount of money.
A surety has two primary responsibilities: ensuring the accused person appears in court whenever required, and informing the court if they become aware that the accused is planning to leave the country or go into hiding.
A person ceases to be a surety when: the court allows them to stop; when they petition the court for release from surety obligations; and when the case concludes with either a conviction or acquittal.
The surety may at any time request the court to stop being the accused's surety. The request must be made verbally in court. The surety brings the released individual before the court and formally requests to end their obligations.
The surety must bring the accused to court immediately. If they fail, they will be required to pay the amount stated on the bail form. If they fail to pay, they will be arrested and imprisoned. However, if there is a good reason for the accused's failure to appear, the surety should inform the court.
For simple offences such as threatening violence or malicious damage to property, the application is made in the magistrate's courts. For serious offences such as murder, rape, defilement, or aggravated robbery, the accused applies in the high court.
For minor offences, the accused can ask for bail verbally from the trial magistrate without legal representation. For serious offences, a written application should be submitted to the high court, preferably with lawyer assistance. The court determines when to hear bail applications.
Cash bail is a sum of money asked by the court as security, paid immediately. Non-cash bail is the sum asked by the court to be paid by a surety only when the accused fails to appear. The key distinction is timing: cash bail requires immediate payment, while non-cash bail is collected only if the defendant does not show up.
The magistrate or judge determines this based on: the severity of the offence (violent crimes attract higher cash bail); public interest considerations; the complexity of the offence (simple offences usually get non-cash bail); and for theft cases, amounts stolen typically influence bail amounts.
Bail money will not be returned if the accused jumped bail or does not appear in court on the stated date and time. It will also not be returned when the accused runs away from the country or goes into hiding.
After the case concludes: write a letter to the magistrate who heard the case; attach the bail form on which you had been reporting; attach the receipt given by court; attach a copy of the accused's ID; and wait for a response. No fee is paid for a refund of bail.
