The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Court clerks and support staff will soon start wearing distinct uniforms as part of the efforts by the judiciary to stamp out corruption.
The purple uniform that was officially unveiled by the Permanent Secretary to the Judiciary, Pius Bigirimana and Judiciary Chief Registrar, Sarah Langa Siu at their headquarters on Tuesday bears unique features.
It bears the name of the staff and their title embroiled in black colour on the right-hand side and the judiciary logo on the left-hand side.
According to Bigirimana, the development is in line with the recommendations made by the 2020 Judiciary Anti-Corruption Task Force report, which emphasized staff uniforms for all support staff.
While unveiling the uniforms, Bigirimana noted it is going to be easy to differentiate court staff from what he described as middlemen who have been pausing as judicial officers to defraud unsuspecting court users.
He revealed that they intend to roll out the new uniforms in a phased manner and starting May 1, 2021, with at least 450 court clerks and 100 drivers.
Bigirimana, who concurred with the view the corruption in the court system is sophisticated, said the introduction of staff uniforms will complement the available measures to fight the vice.
These include the installation of Closed–circuit television cameras at strategic locations in the courts especially in the registries, corners and corridors of court buildings, disciplining errant officers, elimination of cash payments at court and establishment of information desks manned by professional customer care staff to guide court users on their concerns and related court operations to avoid being defrauded by middlemen.
He revealed that so far 30 officers have been reprimanded, 15 interdicted and three others dismissed following the introduction of the measures. On her part, the Chief Registrar Sarah Langa noted that the uniforms will make it easy to identify and deal with crooks that have been impersonating court officials and extorting money from innocent court users.
Each of the beneficiaries received three sets of uniforms, which they are expected to wear at all times while on duty. The 2019/2020 National Integrity Survey report released in February 2021 mentioned the Judiciary as the second most corrupt government Institution after Uganda Police Force.
In 2020, President Yoweri Museveni who has since put in place several agencies aimed at fighting corruption in the country revealed that they had fueled confusion instead of helping to end the vice after being infiltrated by bad elements that make it hard to crack down on corrupt officials.
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