Several lawyers want Supreme Court Justice Esther Kisaakye and Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo to settle their grievances through mediation. Lawyers say that putting the feud between the two senior justices of the highest court in the land in front of their juniors would set a very bad example for the country and the independence of the judiciary, which they are supposed to protect.
In an interview with URN, the lawyers gave their opinions. The interview happened just one day after Dr. Kisaakye filed a petition with the constitutional court against Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and five others for illegally withholding her salary and allowances.
On Monday, Justice Kisaakye filed a petition with the Constitutional Court asking for 24 orders and dozens of other declarations. Among other things, she wants the record showing that she was away without official leave to be erased; she wants to be given duties; and she wants to be put back in charge of the Supreme Court’s administration.
The other people named in the lawsuit are Pius Bigirimana, the Permanent Secretary to the Judiciary; Sarah Langa Siu, the Chief Registrar of Courts of Judicature; Apophia Tumwine, the Commissioner of Human Resources in the Judiciary; the Judicial Service Commission; and the Attorney General.
Effective March 18, 2021, from the Presidential Election Petition filed by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu against President Yoweri Museveni, the respondents have jointly and severally engaged in acts that are inconsistent with the constitution. She also says that Owiny-Dollo took away her file before she could read her decision on the presidential petition; that the Chief Justice and government shut down the Supreme Court on March 19, 2021; that a false and slanderous press statement was released; and that she was not given money for medical care.
Some of these things are that they didn’t recognize or follow her seniority at the Supreme Court, that they did secret investigations on her under the guise of a general inquiry, that they wouldn’t let her go on leave, that the Chief Justice wouldn’t give her work, that they wouldn’t bring back her research assistant, that they took away her driver’s and bodyguards’ pay, that they wouldn’t give a letter of commitment to her bankers, and that they took her off the judiciary.
Martin Asingwire Baryaruha, the Acting President of the Uganda Law Society, describes the feud as unfortunate but hastens to add that what they are seeing is a fire whose smoke appeared long before. He says that the best way to handle the situation, with the help of the strongest part of the government, would have been for the judiciary’s internal systems, like the Judiciary Council, which was set up under the Administration of the Judiciary Act, to act as a mediator and help find peaceful solutions.
“The matter would have been discussed and guidance provided. Seeing as a constitutional petition has been filed in court, it’s important to first see the responses of the people named as respondents and figure out the entire dispute frame. We are then going to consider whether to intervene as ‘Amicus Curiae’ or ‘Friends of Court’ and guide on the matter as best as we can, “said Baryaruha told URN when asked what he thought about the dispute.
For counsel George Musisi, the battle doesn’t reflect well on the judiciary given the legal implications it’s likely to lead to since the constitutional court is headed by the Deputy Chief Justice and, in case it doesn’t succeed, it goes to the Supreme Court where they both sit. Musisi believes that Kisaakye wants to portray the rot in the judiciary, and it goes on record that the most senior judge of the Supreme Court is complaining about mistreatment.
He says the two former elders in the Judiciary, retired Chief Justices Phillip Odoki and Bart Katureebe, should have presided over their mediation because it doesn’t go well when such is happening at the hands of people who are supposed to safeguard the independence of the Judiciary since it sets a bad precedent.
A legal scholar who has preferred not to be quoted for fear of violating the subjudice rule said no one is immune from civil proceedings and that’s the reason why the said respondents have been sued.
“This case will have far-reaching effects on the independence of judges and their time after they make a decision.” It is a fact that Justice Kisaakye is the most senior member of that court. “Somewhere in the Court of Appeal we have a justice that went to another country, reformed their entire judiciary as Chief Justice, but for some reason, his promotion to the Highest Court has been delayed,” said the anonymous source.
Human rights activist Andrew Karamagi describes the move as a culmination of events but not the worst he has seen in many years of the emasculation of the judiciary, which he says is a crucial arm of the government. He says that because of things like the military raid of the High Court in 2005 and other similar events in which suspects who had been given bail were re-arrested by paramilitary/counterterrorism operatives and detained in ungazetted locations, and because these kinds of outrages keep happening, no one can expect a judicial system that works and is free from interference and conflict.
“Prior to her current predicament, Justice Kisaakye herself had not been exempted from conducting herself in a manner beneath the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court. Karamagi said, “She has been very biased against the political opposition and has contributed a lot to the loss of judicial independence, which she now wants to use as a shield.”
He explained that “it is my considered opinion that this is a culmination of so many years of decay; it is called metastasis in medicine…where a chronic disease like cancer spreads beyond the primary organ of infection to other organs or systems. Unfortunately, if nothing changes, the institutional malaise that has been eating away at almost every ministry, department, and authority is only going to get worse.
Atabua Letia, another lawyer, says that Justice Kisaakye has become a victim of what he describes as “bull shit protocol,” a policy he says is adopted by a government to undermine citizens’ rights by first violating them, keeping them in litigation in the courts for a long time, and once the courts have pronounced themselves on the law and awarded damages, the government simply refuses to pay them, citing budgetary restrictions, among others.
“Justice Kisaakye has now become a victim of the bullshit protocol. When they partook in sentencing Ivan Sebaduka and violating his rights, no one spoke up. Now when it’s a Supreme Court Judge, suddenly it gathers all this attention. As Ugandans, our Supreme Court and courts lost value a long time ago, “said Atabua.
He said that “the only person I can forgive is Pius Bigirimana because he is a simple bookkeeper who played with fire and got burnt. As for the rest, they are simply learned but not properly educated legal practitioners. I am sure it will end in mediation. However, it’s a culmination of the bullshit that our courts have since descended into. As for our dear Chief Justice Chigamoy, he has succeeded in finally undressing”.
Lawyer Nalukoola Luyimbazi, who is also the Legal Advisor of the Democratic Party, says that overstaying in power is cancerous for not only the three arms of the government but also for all institutions in the country. He says before taking any decision, the players are supposed to first think about how the decision is to be perceived by the topmost leader, whom he describes as the leader for eternity.
Nalukoola says that the country has lost the independence of not only the judiciary but also other parts of the government. He also says that some players are always afraid of losing their jobs and can’t stand hearing voices that disagree with them.