A surety is a person who appears in court and promises that the accused will come to court for his/her trial if released on bail.

He/she accepts the responsibility to pay a fixed sum of money to government if the accused does not appear in court when needed.

A surety should be a responsible person in society without a criminal record and above 21 years.

To qualify to be a surety the following documents are needed:

• A letter of introduction to court from the LC I chairperson of their home area, signed and stamped
• A valid identification card (driving permit, passport, voter’s card, National ID)
• Sometimes and if required: a certain amount of money to be deposited in court

To stop being a surety, the person needs to request before court by word of mouth that they have ceased to be the accused’s surety.

What happens if the accused disobeys the conditions of the bail?

• The surety is required to bring the accused to court immediately.
• If the surety fails to bring the accused to court the court money as stated on the bail form must be paid.
• If the court money is not paid the surety will be imprisoned.

If there is a good reason why the accused couldn’t appear in court. The surety needs to inform court in time about the reasons