The Committee mandated to vet the recently nominated Justices of the High Court and Court of Appeal has quashed the complaints raised against five of the nominees, saying the complaints were not substantive.
The five persons are part of the 14 judicial officers nominated by President Yoweri Museveni earlier this month for possible appointment to the positions of Justices of Appeal and Judges of the High Court.
As required by the Constitution, the list of the nominees was forwarded to the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda who chairs the Appointments Committee for approval.
However, the committee received complaints against five of the nominees from individuals who argued that the nominees were not suitable for the appointment.
The five include Justice Stephen Musota, Justice Christopher Madrama, His Worship Paul Gadenya, His Worship Alex Ajiji and His Worship Asiimwe Tadeo.
A statement issued by the Parliamentary Appoitments Committee upon receipt of the complaints, set out to investigate the matter.
Since the complainants stated that they had filed their grievances with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the Appointments Committee consulted the Commission on their handling of the various matters complained of.
One of the complainants was Mr. Kercan Prosper, a Grade II Magistrate, who raised a concern about his administrative transfer from Nabweru Court to Kiboga which he claimed was malicious and intended to frustrate his pursuit of a masters degree.
However, according to the JSC, Mr Prosper had not formally informed his employer that he was pursuing a course of study and that he was transferred due to the many complaints against him at the court that included land disputes.
Male Mabirizi, another complainant claimed he was prevented from sitting at the Bar while defending himself in a matter.
But the JSC says Mabirizi is not an advocate of the High Court and therefore has no right to sit at the Bar. It was also noted that the same complainant “appears to be a serial complainant against the Judiciary and other organs whenever decisions don’t go his way”.
“Other complaints forwarded to the JSC didn’t have substance to be formally entertained. The Appointments Committee established that all the complaints filed with the Judicial Service Commission had no merit and proceeded to vet them,” the statement by the Kadaga committee notes.
Having interacted with all the 14 nominees, the Committee will now send a report to the President as required by the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.
