Parliament approves seven High Court judges
L-R: Ms Suzan okalany, Mr Flavian Zeijja and Ms Mugenyi Bitature
Parliament.
The lawmakers on the Appointments Committee yesterday vetted and approved all the newly appointed seven judges of the High Court.
The President appointed the seven judges to the Bench in February this year but they could not start work before the mandatory parliamentary vetting.
The MPs who attended a closed-door vetting committee chaired by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga who requested not to be quoted because the proceedings of the committee are always held in camera, told Daily Monitor that most of the members raised almost similar questions particularly on how the new judges intend to deal with corruption and the case backlog.
The judges who were vetted are; Ketra Katunguka, Flavian Zeijja , Anne Mugenyi Bitature, Susan Okalany, Stephen Mubiru, Anthony Ayuko Ojok and Moses Kawumi Kazibwe. All the judges vowed to dispense justice in a timely manner and fight corruption.
Although the decision of the committee on the seven judges is yet to be made public, Daily Monitor understands that in the coming days, Ms Kadaga will write to the President communicating the committee decision on each of the appointed judges.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Solomon Muyita, the Judiciary communications officer, welcomed the approval of the new judges as a boost in the fight against case backlog currently standing at about 114,000 cases.
“We have already done a census of the pending cases and we have devised means of dealing with the backlog,” Mr Muyita said, adding that the Judiciary is encouraging alternative dispute resolution in respect to the civil cases and free bargaining for criminal cases. They are also promoting mediation, especially in cases involving less than Shs10 million.
President Museveni appointed the judges early this year to replace the six judges who had earlier been elevated to the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court.
The appointment of these new judges, brings the total number of High Court judges to 50 though the approved structure is 82. The new judges are expected to take oath office before the President before they can officially start work.
