State asks High Court to ignore Judge Choudry's plea

By Anne Mugisa and Hillary Nsambu

The State has asked the High Court to reject the petition by Judge Anup Singh Choudry to block the impending probe against him.

Principal State Attorney, Henry Oluka said that Choudry's accusations of bias leveled against the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which recommended appointment of a tribunal to probe the judge were baseless. 

The case is before Justice Vincent Zehurikize.

The State Attorney also told of Choudry's accusations that he was denied a fair hearing where he could face and cross-examine the members of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) lawyers who say he is unfit to be a judge are premature.

The State Attorney said that JSC was never meant to conduct a trial against Choudry.

He said it is the Commission's work to receive the complaint, process it, ask Choudry to give his side of the story in writing, before it decides whether to recommend a tribunal.

According to Oluka, all this was done and Choudry was informed of the ULS accusations and the documents on which the lawyers based their compliant.

He said that Choudry also sent his response back to the Commission, which perused the file and decided to recommend to President Yoweri Museveni to appoint a tribunal to probe the accusations.

He said that Choudry will have a chance to face the lawyers at the tribunal level. Otherwise, he said, the JSC would be usurping the role of the tribunal.

The State Attorney defended the two commissioners, Prof. Ssempebwa and the Attorney General who Choudry specifically accuses of bias against him. He said there was no evidence Choudry brought that shows bias of the two and that the JSC decision to recommend a tribunal was unanimous and not made by only the two.

In his petition seeking to block the probe, Choudry accused the JSC’s bias against him and siding with the ULS because one of the Commissioners, Ssempebwa was there as a representative of the ULS.

He also accused the Attorney General of bias. Both members are on the Commission as a Constitutional requirement.

The Attorney General recently said that the instrument to appoint the tribunal was ready and was only waiting for the JSC to suggest the names. 

He asked the Commission to suggest the names which have since been forwarded to the President for appointment.

But the AG refused to divulge the names. All he revealed was that they included both foreign and local judges as stipulated by the Constitution for cases of investigating a judge from office.

Choudry's problems started soon after his appointment in 2008.

The ULS petitioned the JSC, complaining that Choudry was not fit to be a judge here because he had been struck off the roll of solicitors and his license cancelled in London in 2000 because he had made fraudulent claims.

City lawyer, Jimmy Muyanja is representing Choudry in the High Court. He told the court on Wednesday that the whole process which led to the recommendations for a tribunal to probe his client was flawed.

According to him, the Commission should have assumed quasi-judicial powers and summoned him to defend himself and allowed him to cross-examine the lawyers.  

The ruling is expected to be delivered on June 27, 2012.