A man previously freed from indefinite immigration detention by a landmark High Court ruling has been jailed for dozens of breaches of his visa conditions.
Walter Bongomin, 37, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Brisbane District Court to one count of an offence relating to monitoring conditions of certain bridging visas.
The charge related to 24 occasions when Bongomin failed to comply with his requirement to report daily to immigration authorities by phone.
The offending led to Bongomin, who was born in Uganda, to be arrested and taken into custody in January 2025.
Bongomin's time in custody was equal to having served nearly all of the mandatory 12-month minimum sentence, his defence barrister said.
The mandatory sentencing guidelines allow offenders to serve some of their minimum sentence in the community rather than in custody.
"He plans to obtain work when he is released. He has a forklift ticket, a white card (construction site safety course) and certificates in logistics," Bongomin's barrister said.
Bongomin sat in the dock wearing a bright pink T-shirt and blue tracksuit pants, with his partner in court to support him.
Judge Ken Barlow heard Bongomin had a long criminal record in Queensland and other states.
"You have a history involving unlawful use of motor vehicle, serious assaults on police officers, and quite a number of assaults in 2023 ... It's not surprising your visa was cancelled on character grounds," Judge Barlow said.
Bongomin was released from immigration detention following the November 2023 High Court ruling in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration that found indefinite detention was unlawful.
Bongomin's breach of visa monitoring was more serious than other cases and would have seen him sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment or more if he had not pleaded guilty, Judge Barlow said.
"It doesn't mean you can't demonstrate to the community during your stay in Australia that you can reform yourself, be of good character and contribute properly to the community in Australia which you are fortunate to be a part of," Judge Barlow said.
Bongomin was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment to be released immediately after already serving 351 days.
He was placed on a $1000 good behaviour bond for 12 months.
