Lawyers Urged to go Pro Bono
The Principal Judge, the Hon. Justice Yorokamu Bamwine, has urged advocates to occasionally represent clients free of charge. Hon. Justice Bamwine said this would ensure poor people, who are the majority, get justice during the annual Uganda Law Society Pro Bono Day in Kampala.
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\r\n Hon. Justice Bamwine said some of the lawyers are expensive even for “cases that ordinarily would not deserve a day in court”. The Principal Judge’s remarks come against the backdrop of Sh13 billion awarded to a city lawyer who had petitioned court, challenging a parliamentary resolution.
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\r\n The ambassador of the Netherlands to Uganda, Mr Alphons Hennekens, also in attendance urged the government to “allocate more resources towards legal aid”.
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\r\n The president of the Uganda Law Society, Mr James Mukasa Sebugenyi, said the society would ensure its members handle at least one case for free at a particular time. Mr Ssebugenyi said at the end of each year, lawyers would be required to indicate which case or client they served Pro bono.
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Posted 1st, March 2013
