The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
There have been complaints about declining standards and high failure rates at LDC. As a lecturer at the institution, what’s the way forward?
As far as I don’t speak for LDC, having been part of that institution, I can confirm that the standards at LDC under the current Director Frank Othembi are improving.
The problem is that LDC cannot be expected to fix a lawyer who has been poorly trained for four years in only nine months. The Universities need to make the law degree more rigourous. Legal research and writing should never be made optional.
There have been calls to liberalise the bar course provision from only LDC to other entities. How relevant is it?
I don’t support the liberalisation of the bar course because the moment we open this to the private sector, the quality of legal education will go down as profit and numbers will take centre stage at the expense of quality. LDC is a core institution in enhancing professionalism because of its tested competence and ability to produce a capable breed of legal professionals. LDC has not failed to meet this objective to call for liberalisation. The solution instead lies in goverment increasing its funding to LDC to enable them absorb the many lawyers that are coming out of the universities every year.
There are fewer women in private practice. A case in point was the absence of women lawyers during the Mbabazi petition, how do you plan to encourage young female law students take on these roles?
A fact to note is that the Presidential Petition had female lawyers that may not have been noticed. Norah Matovu-Winyi was one of the lawyers of the civil society amici curia application and Zulaika Kassujja was one of the petitioner’s lawyers.
But if there are structural or other impediments that female lawyers face, we are happy to listen to it and deal with it forthwith.
The gap between senior lawyers and the young lawyers seems to be deepening. How are you prepared to narrow the gap and create a smooth network of all practitioners?
Our leadership has not only committed itself to strengthening the bridge between the senior lawyers and the young lawyers but also to building a harmonious and inclusive society. To this end, we have prepared a three-pronged strategy. First, we have begun to create more socialisation platforms to avail more opportunities for lawyers to interact. Secondly, we have committed to work towards making ULS more relevant and responsive to member needs so as to reignite the interest of the members in their society.
Thirdly, we are rolling out a mentorship programme to ensure that the senior lawyers deliberately mentor the younger lawyers in areas of mutual interest.
There are reports and allegations of high levels of corruption among the legal fraternity that undermines professionalism. How true is this?
The allegations of corruption may be just perception as opposed to hard facts. If there is evidence of corruption, then very few are willing to bring it forth. Our request is for members of the public to expose corrupt practices so we can deal with it resolutely. Corruption is a cancer that erodes development, undermines confidence in institutions and deprives the poor access to justice. It’s a crime.
The public is urged to shun such lawyers and instead embrace ethical lawyers. This is one of the ways we can fight the cancer of corruption. We have also insisted on the need to have a law that gives the judiciary powers to deal with corruption and other issues in the judiciary. Nearly half of the staff of the courts are employed by and disciplined by public service. If the judiciary is to deal with these allegations effectively, it must have financial and administrative independence. We hope the new parliament will prioritise the enactment of this law.
How do you intend to resolve it and restore professionalism to the fraternity?
We have in the past resolved to bell the cat as lawyers. We are encouraging the reporting of all cases of corruption to the relevant authorities. We will strive to hold ourselves accountable and as well uphold professional standards at all times. To that end, we will not only pursue efforts to commit to these standards but we will also continuously work with all stakeholders to ensure that corruption is fought.
Where do you see ULS and rule of rule in Uganda at the end of your tenure?
The Uganda Law Society is an institution mandated to promote the rule of law. I don’t intend to slow down this mandate during my tenure. By the end of our tenure, we expect to have put in place a more proactive and coordinated approach involving all the other key stakeholders under the JLOS framework to promote and protect the rule of law.
