Kafuuzi still hopeful for Parliament approval

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  | Kyaka South MP Jackson Kafuuzi is still hopeful that parliament will confirm his appointment to the position of Deputy Attorney General. The appointments committee of Parliament deferred confirmation of Kafuuzi’s appointment after raising queries on his experience.

According to information from the Judiciary, Kafuuzi last renewed his practicing certificate as a High Court advocate in 2015, a year before he joined Parliament, and as a result, falls short of the seven-year experience threshold for one to serve in the position.

But Kafuuzi, who missed out on the administration of oath early this week said that contrary to the queries, he has an experience spanning 13-years in the legal field, eight of them as an advocate of the high court. He is optimistic that the committee will give him a nod as soon as members reconvene to review his credentials as submitted by the judiciary.

He adds that although the law says one should have experience equivalent to seven years as an advocate of the High Court, renewing a certificate, which presented a lacuna for him, is not anywhere in the law.

“You do not always need a practicing certificate unless you are going to court, but if I am going to do research, if I am going to draft pleadings if I am going to do law reporting if I am going to negotiate contracts if I am going to sit on the legal and Parliamentary affairs committee, I do not need a practicing certificate,” Kafuuzi told URN.

Kafuuzi says the reason State Attorneys get appointed Attorney General is because of their experience in law, not because they hold a practicing certificate. He acknowledged that he has not been renewing his practicing certificate, but this does not disqualify him from being a Deputy Attorney General.

However according to the interpretation by senior lawyers, Kafuuzi is enrolled as an advocate, but the failure to consistently renew his license could dent his hopes of becoming Uganda’s next Deputy Attorney General.

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