Chief Justice to Bamugemereire: "You used wrong forum to criticise judges"

The judiciary has responded to accusations raised by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire that the former is responsible for the rampant illegal land evictions occasioned by court orders.

Addressing journalists on Friday, the chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into Land matters said that her commission has on several occasions raised red flags to the judiciary over bogus court orders but they have not heeded to the call, a thing she said would in future create a state of homelessness all over the country.

In response, the Chief Justice Bart Katureebe has said the judiciary is concerned over the allegations by the commission of inquiry into land matter but noted that they were raised in a wrong forum.

“The Judiciary, however, is concerned with the mode used by the Commission to communicate matters of such serious nature. 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,” said Katureebe in a statement released on Monday.

“The Judiciary, as well as the government, would have studied that report and taken appropriate action, including giving the officers mentioned in there in an opportunity to defend themselves.”

Justice Bamugemereire in her release on Friday said their investigations had unearthed a syndicate between judicial officers and government officials who collude to forcefully evict people from land in disregard of the law.

She further noted that there have been multiple evictions in Entebbe, Wakiso, Mityana and Mubende revealing that all of them have been authorised by judicial officers, a thing she said will cause problems for the country.

“Notably, the manner in which the orders, rulings and judgments are arrived at indicates a grand level of ‘cartelization’ between government officers that allows the issuance of titles, no objection approvals and other such facilitating documents,” Bamugemereire said on Friday.

“These orders, rulings and judgments have entrenched a sense of helplessness for thousands of poor persons who don’t believe that institutions of the government can protect their rights on land. This bears implications on matters of peace and tranquility on land in various areas,”

The chief justice in response said they would further study the statements made by Justice Bamugemereire and her commission before working to rectify the problem.

He added that judicial officers are always expected to conduct themselves in a more transparent manner so as to enhance public trust and confidence in the judiciary.

“Any judicial officer found to have acted outside the law will be dealt with accordingly,”Katureebe noted.

The Principal Judge, Yorokamu Bamwine however warned that actions of a few judicial officers should not be used to brand the entire Judiciary a culprit.