Mbidde, Mabikke rap judge over LDC exam probe

Apr 20, 2013

Politicians Fred Mukasa Mbidde, and Michael Mabikke, also enrolled advocates of the High Court, have rapped a judge who declined to stop a probe into examination malpractice at Law Development Centre(LDC).

By Andante Okanya
 
Politicians Fred Mukasa Mbidde, and Michael Mabikke, also enrolled advocates of the High Court, have rapped a judge who declined to stop a probe into examination malpractice at Law Development Centre(LDC).

In January this year, the duo petitioned the High Court seeking a declaratory judgment that the report of the Forensic Audit of the Bar Course from 2004 to 2011, be quashed on grounds that the inquiry committee was not duly instituted.

However, on February 13, presiding judge Vincent Zehurikize of the High Court in Kampala dismissed the petition, noting that LDC as an institution is entitled to carry out a probe into its internal affairs as a soul searching exercise in a bid to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.

But on April 12, the duo filed a petition at the Court of Appeal, protesting Zehurikize’s verdict. In statements contained in their memorandum of appeal, the duo contends that the judge erred by failing to pronounce that the Forensic  Audit was rendered irrelevant, since the  duo had already graduated.

“The learned judge erred in fact and in law when he refused to rule that  when the management committee of LDC declared that the applicants(duo)  had passed their  final exams, graduated them, and awarded them diplomas in legal  practice, it  became functus officio and cannot legally appoint any other committee to make any further investigations,” the memorandum states.

Legally, functus officio refers describes a situation in which someone or something has fulfilled the purpose of its creation and is, therefore, of no further virtue or effect. Consequently, once submitted issues have finally been decided, the authority over those questions is ended.

Additionally, the duo wants the Appellate Court to pronounce that Zehurikize erred in fact and law when he failed to  declare the Forensic Audit null and void, since the duo was not  accorded a hearing.

Following reports of rife examination malpractice at LDC, a forensic audit probe committee was set up to investigate purported illegalities committed between 2004 and 2011.The duo was among the15 former students whose papers were scrutinised.

Records indicated that Mbidde's criminal law marks were altered. The cited examination malpractices were tampering of the marks on the mark sheets by way of white washing them. Also under the spotlight were variance between marks recorded on the mark sheet and those presented to the board of examiners.

In the ruling, Zehurikize also disqualified the inquiry committee led by the retired judge Augustine Kania, noting that it was not properly constituted in accordance with Section 16 of the LDC Act. A new committee has since been constituted.

LDC is yet to file its response. The court is yet to schedule a hearing date for the appeal.

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