'Name and shame corrupt judicial officers'

KAMPALA - Justice Henry Adonyo (pictured above, right) has asked lawyers in Uganda to name and shame judicial officers who use them as conduits to ask for bribes from suspects.

Adonyo, the executive director of the Judicial Studies Institute, said naming and shaming the corrupt is the only way to bring corruption in the judiciary to an end.

He made the remarks while addressing a one-day workshop on plea bargain for Mukono High Court Circuit judicial officers held at Hobiah Hotel, Mukono on Wednesday.

Adonyo said corruption among judicial officers is one of the factors hindering the timely dispensation of justice and increasing the case backlog.

Corruption has for long been a thorn in the flesh of the judicial system in Uganda.

Adonyo said the existing case backlog, which stands at 30,000, also needs urgent attention. He said plea bargain session could provide a solution.

Under plea bargain, the accused and prosecution in consultation with the victim meet to reach an amicable agreement on an appropriate punishment.

This can only happen before the suspect is convicted following a full judicial process.

Adonyo, who represented the Principal Judge, Justice Yorokamu Bamwine, also revealed that since 2014, over 2000 cases have been disposed of through plea bargain in the High Court.

The initiative could also help decongest jails in Uganda whose current population stands at 40,000 inmates.

Meanwhile, Adonyo cautioned judicial officers against disrespecting suspects and treating them like outcasts, arguing that committing doesn't mean the person is inhuman.

He lashed out at judicial officers who report for duty late and leave office just after lunch, saying that they are also partly responsible for the backlog.