THIS WEEK: Parliament moves to vet newly appointed judges amidst complaints

THIS WEEK: Parliament moves to vet newly appointed judges amidst complaints

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The 14 judges to the High Court and the Court of Appeal appointed by the President were last week vetted by parliament’s appointment committee.

However the speaker Rebecca Kadaga headed committee didn’t confirm all of them as they received complaints against five nominees; Justice Stephen Musota and Justice Christopher Madrama, nominated for appointment as Justices of Appeal. The others were Paul Gadenya, Alex Ajiji and Asiimwe Tadeo, nominated for appointment as judges of the High Court.

According to a Feb.15 statement from Parliament, the complainants against the judicial officers included Kercan Prosper, a Grade II Magistrate, who complained about his administrative transfer from Nabweru Court to Kiboga. He said his transfer was malicious and intended to frustrate his pursuit of a master’s degree. Another one – Male Mabirizi complained of being prevented from sitting at the bar.

According to parliament, once the complaints were received, the office of the speaker set out to investigate the matter as the complainants had already filed their grievances with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The appointments committee however is said to have established that all the complaints filed with the JSC had no merit and proceeded to vet them.