The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has urged Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and his fellow Supreme Court Judge Esther Kisaakye to settle their issues outside court to avoid the effects of full litigation and also preserve the sanctity of the institution.
According to Mr Bernard Oundo, the ULS president, he warns that should the petition filed by Justice Kisaakye against the Chief Justice and other Judiciary top officials go on for a full hearing, it will erode public confidence in the institution.
“When you have such conflicts coming out in the open, they erode public confidence in the Judiciary and if we lose confidence in the Judiciary; where shall we go to?” Mr Oundo said during the release of the 3rd quarterly rule of law report in Kampala on Friday.
Mr Ounda also revealed that Law professor Fredrick Ssempebwa is leading a team of mediators to resolve the matter.
“Our advice and what I have tasked the chairman of the mediation committee, Prof Ssempebwa; is to continue with mediation that had been started some time back and see that this matter is hopefully mediated outside the court system. So as ULS, we are going to allow that process to continue,” Mr Oundo said.
Justice Kisaakye sued the Chief Justice and some top officers before the Constitutional Court accusing them of victimising her by withholding her salary, and denying her work, among others.
Sources indicate that the Chief Justice had fully submitted himself to the mediation process.
“It’s now entirely on her (Justice Kisaakye) to have the mediation talks resume because the Chief Justice had fully been cooperating and before the matter went to court, he had met the Ssempebwa committee several times,” a source said.
Others sued along with Chief Justice are Mr Pius Bigirimana, the Judiciary Permanent Secretary, Ms Sarah Langa Siu, the chief registrar of the Judiciary, and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and Ms Apophia Tumwine, the Commissioner, Human Resources of the Judiciary.
