Lawyers end strike; more PRA freed
Mar 14, 2007
A Ugandan lawyer beaten by security forces brandished his bloodstained shirt yesterday as hundreds of colleagues ended a strike by marching around the High Court to symbolically cleanse it of a government raid.
By Anne Mugisa
and Edward Anyoli
A Ugandan lawyer beaten by security forces brandished his bloodstained shirt yesterday as hundreds of colleagues ended a strike by marching around the High Court to symbolically cleanse it of a government raid.
Ugandan judges went on strike last week to protest the re-arrest at the court of six bailed treason suspects by Police officers. Lawyers then walked off the job on Monday for three days to show their support.
Oscar Kihika, the president of the Uganda Law Society, explained that the cleansing was an age-old African ritual designed to purify the court.
“Our ancestors used to slaughter a chicken or a goat. Our lawyers, in walking around the court, are engaged in this act.â€
The lawyers, clad in their professional black gowns, some of them in wigs, made defiant speeches vowing to defend the independence of the Judiciary before joining the procession around the grand, colonial-era building. Sombre music played from speakers set up on the lawn.
“We are telling the Executive what they did was wrong,†Kihika told the group. “We want commitment to the rule of law.â€
Kiyimba Mutale – one of the PRA lawyers beaten unconscious with rifle butts during the fracas – and another lawyer who said he planned to sue the authorities over the assault, held a mock trial outside the court.
As the crowd gasped, Mutale held aloft his main ‘exhibit’ - the bloodstained shirt and tie he had been wearing that day.
The lawyers announced they would prosecute the Police officers who assaulted Mutale.
The Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki, who addressed the gathering, commended the Uganda Law Society for their struggle to defend the independence of the Judiciary.
He advised that lessons should be drawn from the incident to build better institutions and a culture where the Constitution is respected.
The Principal Judge, James Ogoola, said he was satisfied with the Government’s latest response.
In a letter to the Judiciary, President Yoweri Museveni said he regretted the incident and promised such attacks on the court would never happen again.
Meanwhile, three more PRA suspects were granted amnesty yesterday after they applied and renounced armed rebellion, bringing the total number of those released under the 2000 Amnesty Act to 12.
The three, Yasin Kesia Gele, Abukop Achikulo Amiye and Musa Zacharia Obba, were part of the 22 PRA suspects who had been indicted for plotting rebellion against the Government, alongside with opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
However, the three could not walk to freedom yesterday as expected as the Amnesty Commission had not yet finalised their release certificates.
and Edward Anyoli
A Ugandan lawyer beaten by security forces brandished his bloodstained shirt yesterday as hundreds of colleagues ended a strike by marching around the High Court to symbolically cleanse it of a government raid.
Ugandan judges went on strike last week to protest the re-arrest at the court of six bailed treason suspects by Police officers. Lawyers then walked off the job on Monday for three days to show their support.
Oscar Kihika, the president of the Uganda Law Society, explained that the cleansing was an age-old African ritual designed to purify the court.
“Our ancestors used to slaughter a chicken or a goat. Our lawyers, in walking around the court, are engaged in this act.â€
The lawyers, clad in their professional black gowns, some of them in wigs, made defiant speeches vowing to defend the independence of the Judiciary before joining the procession around the grand, colonial-era building. Sombre music played from speakers set up on the lawn.
“We are telling the Executive what they did was wrong,†Kihika told the group. “We want commitment to the rule of law.â€
Kiyimba Mutale – one of the PRA lawyers beaten unconscious with rifle butts during the fracas – and another lawyer who said he planned to sue the authorities over the assault, held a mock trial outside the court.
As the crowd gasped, Mutale held aloft his main ‘exhibit’ - the bloodstained shirt and tie he had been wearing that day.
The lawyers announced they would prosecute the Police officers who assaulted Mutale.
The Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki, who addressed the gathering, commended the Uganda Law Society for their struggle to defend the independence of the Judiciary.
He advised that lessons should be drawn from the incident to build better institutions and a culture where the Constitution is respected.
The Principal Judge, James Ogoola, said he was satisfied with the Government’s latest response.
In a letter to the Judiciary, President Yoweri Museveni said he regretted the incident and promised such attacks on the court would never happen again.
Meanwhile, three more PRA suspects were granted amnesty yesterday after they applied and renounced armed rebellion, bringing the total number of those released under the 2000 Amnesty Act to 12.
The three, Yasin Kesia Gele, Abukop Achikulo Amiye and Musa Zacharia Obba, were part of the 22 PRA suspects who had been indicted for plotting rebellion against the Government, alongside with opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
However, the three could not walk to freedom yesterday as expected as the Amnesty Commission had not yet finalised their release certificates.