Increased number of convicts caused by inexperienced lawyers

 

According to Bamwine, state briefs (lawyer who temporarily monitor proceedings on behalf of government to protect interest of the suspects) are either recent graduates with insufficient experience or ‘failed' lawyers. 

 

Explaining why government lawyers fail, Bamwine said "they rarely go to prisons to meet clients before trial and rarely cite laws or precedent to strengthen their client's case".

 

While addressing hundreds of lawyers who had turned up at the Railway Grounds in Kampala for Uganda Law Society (USL) 6th annual Pro Bono Day on Friday, Bamwine said the lawyers do not prompt court to act but leaves it to decide. 

 

"After a murder suspect has been convicted and it's time to mitigate the sentence, the lawyers often say: I leave the matter to the court.

 

 "I call upon all those involved in the provision of pro bono legal services to pull up their proverbial socks and give Ugandans the much deserved legal service as an ethical duty," Bamwine requested.

 

Pro bono (public good) means providing legal services on a free or significantly reduced fee basis, with no expectation of a commercial return.

 

With the day's theme dubbed "Access for Justice for All - the role of the Pro bono lawyer", the lawyers gave the deprived that turned up for the event free legal services.

 

After the death of their father, Annet Luyiga, 43, and her sisters all resident of Kavule village, Wakiso district lost an acre of land to a giant real estate dealer (Jomayi Property Consultants), prompting her to seek legal services of the providers. They managed to recover their land after winning a court case in 2014.  

 

"We wrote to ULS requesting for a lawyer to represent us since we did not have money. We were given a lawyer who defended us free of charge, and Jomayi was able to return our land with the tittle," she disclosed in her testimony to a mammoth of crowds.

 

"Do not sit and suffer in silence or lose your property because you do not have a lawyer, you can get help from USL," she advised.   

 

Bamwine also observed that the inexperienced lawyers undermine the efficiency of the criminal as well as civil justice systems as a whole and inevitably lead to a denial of the right to equality of arms and to effective representation.

 

Meanwhile, Otafiire said all people are equal before the law in all spheres let it be social, economic or cultural.

 

He advised lawyers to handle their client's cases professionally so that it is expeditiously determined by courts of law.

 

He also disclosed that Parliament is in the process of increasing the number of Judges from 50 to 82 in a bid to fight case backlog in the country.

 

A representative from the European Union (EU) Thomas Tiedemann disclosed that between July and December 2016 an additional 61 advocates enrolled in the program, bringing the total to 2,363 which is 66% of the entire USL membership.

 

He said in Iganga district one Abdu Muduume, who was an acid victim, was helped by a Pro Bono lawyer and he received a compensation order to a tune of sh46m against his attacker who also served 6 years in prison. 

 

He pointed out that the absence of a policy and law on legal aid has hampered effective delivery of legal services to less privileged people. "Many people in Uganda, especially the poor, firmly believe that Ugandan Courts are biased against the poor and marginalized". 

 

The President of Uganda Law Society, Francis Gimara disclosed that they have enlisted 1589 lawyers to offer the free services across the country.  

 

He said in 2016 10,496 clients benefited from the services through alternative dispute resolution, community sensitization and court representation.

 

According to the head Legal Aid and Pro bono services Gimara Aeron, over 80 percent of cases reported are land disputes, administration of estate and family cases about divorce, separation and domestic violence.

 

"Most men especially those aged between 45-50 report cases of land disputes, while issues concerning families are mainly reported by women aged 28-30 years," He disclosed. 

 

He also disclosed that the most expensive case they have ever handled involved sh1.7b over a piece of land in Kisenyi, a Kampala suburb.

 

He said they have offices across 12 regions in the country. These include Kigezi, Ankole, Toro, Fortportal, Bunyoro, Masindi, Westnile, Karamoja, Teso and Acholi.

 

Subsequently, he gave a toll free number for those who seek redress (080010015, 080010015)

 

He said they cannot have offices in every district because it is expensive, and that they use close to sh4b annually to provide legal services to the poor.

 

As a solution, the officials tasked government to enact the National Legal Aid Policy and Law in order to access justice for the poor and vulnerable.