Chief Justice of Uganda Hon. Justice Bart\r\nKatureebe once again warned Judges and Magistrates against involving themselves\r\nin bribery and misconduct saying that this does not only hurt victims of\r\noffences but it also hurts people’s perception of the Judiciary.
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While officiating at the launch of the 2016\r\nLaw Year at High Court in Kampala, the Chief Justice advised judicial officers\r\nwho use the low salary as an excuse for soliciting for bribes to resign and\r\njoin private practice where there is more income.
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"We joined the Judiciary not to make money\r\nbut to serve; all those who are not satisfied with the benefits can step aside.\r\nWe have seen many magistrates who have resigned their jobs and joined private\r\npractice,” stressed Hon. Justice Katureebe.
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Hon. Justice Katureebe urged the public to\r\nreport all cases of bribery to the nearest supervisors or directly to his\r\noffice.
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He however cautioned lawyers against making\r\nbaseless allegations against Judges, noting that this would act as a roadblock\r\nto administration of justice.
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"I call upon all members of the bar not to be\r\ndriven by emotions when filing complaints against judges because on several\r\noccasions I have received complaints from different lawyers accusing Judges of\r\ncorruption, which often turns out to be bias,” he said.
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On the issue of the case backlog, the Hon.\r\nChief Justice directed that all Magistrates and Judges at various levels must\r\nensure that they hit the annual target of all cases allocated to them.
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The Judiciary has set up modern method of\r\nmanagement where officers will be evaluated annually.
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"A High court Judge will have to complete 300\r\ncases, Supreme Court 80 cases , Registrars 400
\r\ncases, Chief Magistrate 600 cases, Grade One Magistrate with more than three\r\nyears experience 400 cases, new Grade One Magistrates 300 cases, whereas grade\r\ntwo Magistrate will handle 300 cases.”
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The Chief Justice appointed Hon. Justice\r\nAugustine Nshimye, the Judge of Supreme Court as inspector of all courts and\r\nhis role will be to ensure that all courts attain the new targets.
The Hon. Chief Justice's New Law Year Speech
Posted 25th, January 2016
