Gov't backs Bamugemereire on corrupt courts
Oct 31, 2018
In a statement issued on October 26, Bamugemereire, who head the commission of inquiry into land related matters in the country, accused the judiciary of corruption during the adjudication of land-related cases.
Ofwono Opondo, the Government spokesperson
Government has backed Justice Catherine Bamugemereire's stance on the corruption, saying that allegations that graft, engineered by the affluent, is eating away the Judiciary, could be true.
Ofwono Opondo, the Government Spokesperson, said during a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre that the courts and other anti-graft public institutions are not as meticulous and strong as expected, a trend that renders credence to Bamugemereire's recent allegations that courts are used by the rich to suffocate the justice quest for the poor and vulnerable.
"Rich people are using courts to evict people from land. You have all witnessed the public spat between Justice Bamugemereire and the Judiciary," Ofwono said, emphasising Bamugemereire's allegations that recent land evictions are laced with a well-planned syndicate between courts and the affluent class in the country.
Ofwono said that on Monday, Cabinet also debated and approved the Zero Tolerance to Corruption Policy, 2018, which roots for, among other things, the need to strengthen and enforce existing anti-corruption policies.
"The objective of the Zero Tolerance to Corruption Policy 2018 is to enable Government renew its commitment to fight corruption by strengthening synergies, institute and effectively enforce anti-corruption measures," he said.
According to Ofwono, inculcating a culture of integrity, accountability and patriotism at all levels is the other objective of the approved anti-corruption policy.
In a statement issued on October 26, Bamugemereire, who head the commission of inquiry into land related matters in the country, accused the judiciary of corruption during the adjudication of land-related cases.
However, her critical eye on the functionality of the Judiciary, where she also serves as a Judge, has caused a stir, with the Chief Justice Bart Katureebe and the Principal Judge, Yorokamu Bamwine, arguing that the lady justice should have authored a report on corruption vices eating the land division court section rather than washing the dirty linen of the judiciary in the public forum and media.
"We would have expected the commission to communicate findings of such a serious nature in form of an interim report to the President not a press release," Katureebe said in a press release issued on October 29.
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