Chief Justice: Corruption allegations against judiciary not supported by evidence

Majority of allegations of corruption levelled against the courts are not supported with evidence, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo has said.

Owiny-Dollo said that the Judiciary will act more decisively on reports of corruption in the courts if well-meaning members of the public such as the religious leaders bring the evidence.

https://nilepost.co.ug/2020/11/02/someone-tried-to-bribe-me-principal-judge-on-dtb-vs-ham-case/

He made the remarks while meeting members of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU).

“We really urge you men of God to be our eyes and ears out there. We’ll achieve a lot if well-meaning members of the public give us credible information about incidents of corruption,” said Owiny-Dollo.

His call was in quick succession re-echoed by the Principal Judge, Dr. Flavian Zeija, who urged the religious leaders to record the court staff they consider corrupt and present the evidence.

“You should be our eyes. Record some of these elements and give us the evidence. We shall not hesitate to act,” he said.

The team was led by Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Mufti of Uganda. Other members were; Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (Archbishop of Kampala), Dr Daniel Matte (President, Seventh-day Adventist), Dr Joseph Serwadda (Born Again Faith in Uganda) and Bishop Joshua Lwere (National Alliance of Pentecostal and Evangelical Churches in Uganda) among others.

They hailed the judiciary over some of its recent milestones which included the adoption of information technologies, which have enhanced justice delivery and the passing of the Administration of the Judiciary Act, among others.

They however raised a number of issues with the courts, which included: high incidents of bribery and corruption especially in bail applications, abuse of judicial authority and lack of integrity, trying of cases outside court jurisdiction, case backlogs and mediation without integrity, among others.

“Some of the Judicial Officers are not ashamed to ask for bribes,” said Mufti Mubaje, adding that the court clerks are mostly used by the judicial officers to solicit for the bribes. He also said many litigants are unable to get bail refunds because the money is taken from them in cash by the judicial officers.

Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga said: “We see a lot of conspiracy and connivance, especially when the courts handle cases related to land belonging to religious institutions. We have lost majority of these cases because of this connivance.”

The religious leaders pledged to work hand-in-hand with the Judiciary in the area of mediation with a view of eliminating case backlog in the court system.