Stop corruption in courts - Museveni
Apr 28, 2008
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni is concerned about the persistent reports of corruption in the Judiciary.
By Frank Mugabi
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni is concerned about the persistent reports of corruption in the Judiciary.
He challenged the Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki, to take stringent measures to stamp out the vice.
“I still see the IGG (Inspector General of Government) ranking you among the most corrupt institutions in the country. We must get rid of that image,†Museveni told Odoki after commissioning the new magistrates’ court in Yumbe town on Sunday.
At the annual Judges’ conference last week, the IGG, Faith Mwondha, said two national integrity surveys found the Judiciary to be receiving the highest mean amounts in bribes. “If money and influence are the basis of justice, the poor cannot compete,†she told the gathering in Kampala.
“Bribery not only makes justice unaffordable, it ruins the capacity of the justice system to fight corruption and to serve as a beacon of independence and accountability.â€
Odoki brushed off the findings as perceptions. But Museveni asked him to emphasise on integrity among the judicial officers in order to change the public’s perceptions.
The new court building in Yumbe is part of the Government policy to facilitate courts in the north to cope with the case backlog and provide a favourable environment for arbitration, the chief justice said at the inauguration.
The Judiciary, he added, was striving to have a presence at a professional level in each district. He named other courts recently constructed in the region as the High Court and Chief Magistrate’s Court in Arua, the Chief Magistrate’s courts at Nebbi and Moyo, and the magistrates’ Grade One court at Adjumani.
The Yumbe court building was funded by Denmark through DANIDA and the Government.
The President saluted the Danish Government for its contribution and appealed for more help to speed up the process of court proceedings.
He noted that recording proceedings by hand was contributing to the case backlog.
Earlier, the President commissioned a sh1.1b piped water system for Yumbe town.
The water will be drawn from two motorised sources, one at Lulukwa and another at Charanga.
The World Bank funded the project that will soon expand to the nearby trading centres of Kuru, Kerila and Lomunga.
Addressing a public rally at Yumbe Boma grounds, the President said the Government would continue to do its part in providing infrastructure like schools, roads, health units and water.
He called upon the people to do their part to salvage themselves from poverty by optimally using their plots.
He proposed a four-point plan to lift household incomes. First, he advised, they should initiate an enterprise that would bring daily income, such as rearing chicken layers for eggs or dairy cows for milk.
Secondly, they should set up an enterprise that could bring seasonal income, like rice growing.
Thirdly, they should look at perennial income through hybrid mangoes, which grow well in West Nile, while the fourth step was to establish a long-term income venture, like planting teak trees.
Museveni, who is on a five-day tour in the region to promote the prosperity-for all-programme, urged people to take advantage of the funds available to implement his advice.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni is concerned about the persistent reports of corruption in the Judiciary.
He challenged the Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki, to take stringent measures to stamp out the vice.
“I still see the IGG (Inspector General of Government) ranking you among the most corrupt institutions in the country. We must get rid of that image,†Museveni told Odoki after commissioning the new magistrates’ court in Yumbe town on Sunday.
At the annual Judges’ conference last week, the IGG, Faith Mwondha, said two national integrity surveys found the Judiciary to be receiving the highest mean amounts in bribes. “If money and influence are the basis of justice, the poor cannot compete,†she told the gathering in Kampala.
“Bribery not only makes justice unaffordable, it ruins the capacity of the justice system to fight corruption and to serve as a beacon of independence and accountability.â€
Odoki brushed off the findings as perceptions. But Museveni asked him to emphasise on integrity among the judicial officers in order to change the public’s perceptions.
The new court building in Yumbe is part of the Government policy to facilitate courts in the north to cope with the case backlog and provide a favourable environment for arbitration, the chief justice said at the inauguration.
The Judiciary, he added, was striving to have a presence at a professional level in each district. He named other courts recently constructed in the region as the High Court and Chief Magistrate’s Court in Arua, the Chief Magistrate’s courts at Nebbi and Moyo, and the magistrates’ Grade One court at Adjumani.
The Yumbe court building was funded by Denmark through DANIDA and the Government.
The President saluted the Danish Government for its contribution and appealed for more help to speed up the process of court proceedings.
He noted that recording proceedings by hand was contributing to the case backlog.
Earlier, the President commissioned a sh1.1b piped water system for Yumbe town.
The water will be drawn from two motorised sources, one at Lulukwa and another at Charanga.
The World Bank funded the project that will soon expand to the nearby trading centres of Kuru, Kerila and Lomunga.
Addressing a public rally at Yumbe Boma grounds, the President said the Government would continue to do its part in providing infrastructure like schools, roads, health units and water.
He called upon the people to do their part to salvage themselves from poverty by optimally using their plots.
He proposed a four-point plan to lift household incomes. First, he advised, they should initiate an enterprise that would bring daily income, such as rearing chicken layers for eggs or dairy cows for milk.
Secondly, they should set up an enterprise that could bring seasonal income, like rice growing.
Thirdly, they should look at perennial income through hybrid mangoes, which grow well in West Nile, while the fourth step was to establish a long-term income venture, like planting teak trees.
Museveni, who is on a five-day tour in the region to promote the prosperity-for all-programme, urged people to take advantage of the funds available to implement his advice.