Prosecutors' strike: Criminal session flops in Iganga

Nov 12, 2017

Jinja High Court was expected to handle 40 criminal cases from November 6 to December 6, but prosecutors are on strike.

COURT l LAWYERS' STRIKE

A one-month high court criminal session that was scheduled to take place in Iganga district has flopped.

The sitting, which was meant to start on Monday before Justice Michael Elubu, flopped due to the ongoing countrywide strike by state prosecutors.

Elubu is a resident judge at the Jinja High Court. Iganga district falls within the Jinja High Court circuit.

According to Jesse Byaruhanga, the Jinja High Court deputy registrar, Elubu was expected to handle 40 criminal cases from November 6 to December 6, 2017.

Much as the funds were available to run the event as it had been scheduled, Byaruhanga said it hit a snag as a result of the striking prosecutors.

"The funds are available, but the session cannot take off without the prosecutors because they are key in all criminal matters, but are on strike," Byaruhanga told New Vision during an interview.

He explained that by the time they scheduled the session, they thought the strike would be off.

This implies that the suspects who were waiting for their fate after staying on remand between three to four years, will have to wait until a consensus is reached  between the government and striking attorneys.

However, in case the situation remains the same, Byaruhanga said instead of wasting time, they will get permission from their superiors to hear civil matters which do not necessarily require prosecutors.

Alternatively, Byaruhanga said the judge will fix other ordinary cases.

Of the 40 cases, murder tops the list with 14, followed by aggravated defilement  at 12. Aggravated robbery and rape are 8 and 5 respectively.

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