Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that all charges, or ongoing criminal trials, or pending trials, before the courts martial involving civilians must immediately cease and be transferred to the ordinary courts of law with competent jurisdiction.
The opposition believes that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni continues to use military courts only to suppress his political opponents. But he is not using the Courts Martial in line with the purposes for which they were created which is to deal with service and discipline offenses committed by the soldiers.
The landmark decision was given by a Panel of five Supreme Court Justices led by Professor Lillian Tibatemwa in their judgement delivered on Thursday in Kampala.
This was a unanimous decision delivered on Wednesday by five Supreme Court Justices, led by Professor Lillian Tibatemwa, in the case of Lt. Ambrose Ogwang, a UPDF officer who was found guilty of murder by the Court Martial and subsequently sentenced to 29 years in prison. Ogwang sought to overturn his conviction and subsequent sentence.
In 2012, then High Court Judge Wilson Masalu Musene (now deceased) found Kizito guilty of manslaughter for the October 24th, 2012 murder of Nsubuga at Kasangombe Village, Kirabira Road in Wakiso District.
According to Owiny-Dollo, he proposed Kisaakye’s ruling to be delivered on March 22nd or 23rd, 2021 and informed the Attorney General that they were to be informed of the day accordingly but she insisted, stormed out of the Supreme Court building and addressed a press conference that day and even a day after and because of this, he referred the matter to the JSC and the process is now at an advanced stage.
“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 /courts lost value a long time ago,” said Atabua.
The report shows between May 12th and July 12th, 2022 the Supreme Court conducted a pretrial hearing of 89 criminal appeals, and also in the same month it heard one civil matter.
Jamson Karemani, the Judiciary Spokesperson told URN that the few people he has talked to believe the fire started from the Air Conditioning System-AC.
"Presently, we have a justice on sick leave, one already retired in December last year, and another Justice is about to retire in February this year", reads Justice Amoko’s report.
A panel of five Justices ruled that the Constitutional Court was right to eject the MPs from parliament for being elected in non-existent constituencies. The Justices say that the elections were neither conducted in a general election nor as a way of by-election which are the only recognized ways of electing Members of Parliament.
The lawyers led by Macdusman Kabega on Tuesday told a panel of five Supreme Court Justices led by the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo that one of the Judges who presided over Kashaka's appeal case should have recused himself from the matter since he was privy to the evidence that was adduced in the trial.
"Since the 15th of last month our offices have been under siege there is no activity we can carry from there, we have written to the Inspector General of Police, the Electoral Commission chairperson, but they are also waiting for the orders from above. This is unconstitutional,” said David Lubongoya, the NUP Secretary-General.
According to the Justices, Ssebadduka used abusive language in his petition when he described them as a “council of fools.” He also described Electoral Commission and its Chairperson, Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, Ministry of Health and President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as ignorant and unintelligible on the basics of COVID-19.
Principal State Attorney Harriet Angom on Friday told Supreme Court Judge Lillian Tibatemwa that court should instead expeditiously hear Kashaka's appeal challenging his conviction and sentence as opposed to releasing him on bail.
A notice issued by the Acting Assistant Supreme Court Registrar, Esther Nansambu shows that the panel comprises of Justices Dr. Esther Kisaakye, Stella Arach Amoko, Opio Aweri, Lillian Tibatemwa, Richard Buteera, Paul Mugamba and Mike Chibita.
The Chief Justice Bart Katureebe said that the seven storied twin building once completed will enable a conducive environment for the justices to operate. I