President Museveni has appointed 11 new acting High Court judges in an effort to fill vacancies in the expanded judicial structure in Uganda.
According to a memo from the Clerk to Parliament dated July 17th, the appointees will meet with the House Appointments Committee, which is chaired by Speaker Anita Among, on Friday starting at 10 am local time.
The Clerk of Parliament, Adolf Mwesige Kasaija, approved the notice of meeting to the various Appointments Committee members.
The new hires are Dr. Christine Akello Echookit, Ms. Flavia Nabakooza, a former registrar, Mr. Phillip Willebrord Mwaka, a former attorney general’s aide, Mr. Amos Kwizera, Mr. David Makumbi, Mr. Samson Lwokya, and Mr. Jamson Karemani, the judiciary’s public relations officer.
Mr. Farouq Lubega, Ms. Jacqueline Mwondha, Ms. Rosette Comfort Kania, Ms. Patience Emily Tumusiime Rubagumya, and Ms. Aisha Naluzze Batala are additional participants.
Samuel Were Wandera has also been chosen to serve as the Financial Intelligence Authority’s (FIA) new executive director.
The first executive director, Mr. Sydney Asubo, who served for two terms, will now be replaced by Mr. Wandera.
The FIA is a government agency that was established in 2014 with the primary responsibility of preventing money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in the nation.
With the addition of the eleven acting judges appointed by President Museveni, the total number of High Court judges—including their chief, Principal Judge Flavian Zeija—now stands at 81.
Parliament approved increasing the number of High Court judges from the existing structure of 83 judges to 151 judges at the beginning of this month.
As a result, there are currently 70 judges lacking in staff.
No case will remain in court for more than a year without being resolved and a judgement being issued, according to Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo’s longstanding promise, if he is given the 151 judges.
Due to a lack of judges, it is estimated that about Sh8 trillion is stuck in commercial disputes at the Commercial Division of the High Court, which scares away potential investors.
Over 46,000 cases are currently pending in the judiciary.
When a case has been pending in the legal system for more than two years without being resolved, it is considered to be backlogged.
In light of the Attorney General’s appeal against the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the appointment of 16 judges to the High Court in an acting capacity for two years was unconstitutional, 11 new judges have been appointed in an acting capacity.
The Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court, has not yet made a final determination on the issue.