Months after controversial UMSC ruling, Acting Judge Bukirwa asked to handover office

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Principal Judge, Dr. Flavian Zeija, has instructed the Acting Jinja High Court Judge, Faridah Bukirwa Ntambi, to hand over all judiciary property and files in her possession.

In an August 8, 2024, letter to Justice Bukirwa, Justice Zeija explained that the judiciary did not receive the instruments from the appointing authority confirming her as a substantive judge.

“Therefore, since your acting period as a High Court judge expires on August 15, 2024, this is to request you to hand over your office, all judiciary property, and case files to the head of the Jinja High Court Circuit as we investigate why your instruments of appointment were never received by the judiciary,” reads the letter.

Justice Bukirwa came into the spotlight last year when she issued a contested High Court order allowing three Muslims to convene the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) General Assembly.

She directed the applicants to elect a neutral chairperson to convene the General Assembly at a neutral venue and report the resolutions of the meeting to the High Court.

The court order drew an uproar from the UMSC leadership, who accused the judge of issuing the orders in violation of the UMSC Constitution. UMSC subsequently filed an application before the High Court in Kampala for a judicial review of the orders.

In his ruling, the Principal Judge halted the implementation of the resolutions from the contested General Assembly held at Ggangu Muslim Primary School and referred the matter to Justice Bukirwa for review.

However, during the hearing, UMSC accused Justice Bukirwa of bias and conflict of interest, prompting the Principal Judge to reassign the matter to another judge in the Kampala High Court.

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