Justice Kisakye’s judgment in Bobi Wine case inconsequential- Judiciary

The Judiciary has watered down the minority judgment by Lady Justice Esther Kisakye in the Robert Kyagulanyi petition challenging President Museveni’s election as being inconsequential.

There was a standoff on Thursday when Justice Kisakye forcefully proceeded to read her minority ruling in Kyagulanyi’s petition even when her fellow justices of the Supreme Court refused to accompany her.

Drama ensued when the public address system and lights were switched off as Justice Kisakye proceeded to address the press after the other members of the panel of nine justices of the Supreme Court refused to return as had been agreed.

Kisakye said the Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny Dollo had wanted to gag her from reading her dissenting ruling by ordering the confiscation of her file.

In the ruling she later read, Kisakye said the Supreme Court was unfair to Kyagulanyi when it refused to grant him permission to amend his petition but also allow him time to file additional evidence.

In a statement released by the judiciary on Friday, Kisakye’s ruling was described as one without any consequence.

“Unknown to the Chief Justice and the other Justices, Justice Kisakye had proceeded to the Courtroom alone and read her ruling in the presence of a few advocates for the petitioner and the media. The purported delivery of the ruling by Justice Kisakye to journalists is of no consequence. Whatever the true purpose for her strange conduct will not change how business is conducted in the Supreme Court,” the judiciary said.

According to the judiciary, the standoff came after Justice Kisakye refused to circulate her ruling for other justices to read through as the practice is.

It is said that the lady justice told the Chief Justice and the other justices that she would not circulate her ruling as was supposed to do and that consequently, her colleagues decided not to return to court.

“Each of the Justices then told her that they would not go back to Court unless they have read her ruling. At this point, the Chief Justice advised Justice Kisaakye to circulate her ruling for the Justices to peruse, and then she would deliver the ruling on another day early next week in the presence of her colleagues. She, however, stormed out of the boardroom.”

“It is well known that the Supreme Court Justices respect each other's independence in dispensing their duties as a panel and to own all their decisions as a Court. However, the rule which is practiced the world over is that Justices share their judgments whether they are dissenting or concurring with each other. This is in the spirit of collegiality, and it has been the practice of the Court for a long time.”

However, speaking to journalists on Friday, Justice Kisakye insisted there have been efforts to gag her.

“My file is still confiscated by the Chief Justice of Uganda .An impression has been given by the official spokesperson of the judiciary who without consulting me went ahead to issue a statement and malign my name when he doesn’t have the facts,”Kisakye said.