We need more judges not MPs

Last week, inmates in Lira rioted against prolonged detention without trial. The reason given for case backlog is that we do not have enough judicial officers to dispose of these cases.

Every district should have a resident magistrate but this is far from being attained and the reason given is that there is no money! Which leads me to the cardinal question : How can we afford to pay 370 MPs, a salary of Shs20 million each and claim that there is not enough money to pay judges and magistrates? Is it lack of money or poor planning and prioritising?

Uganda needs more Judges than MPs and if we can afford the luxury of sustaining 370 MPs, we cannot fail to have a magistrate in each of the 112 district at a minimal pay of not less than Shs10 million each!
There is no judge without a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, yet all an MP needs is a minimum of a UACE qualification or its equivalent. How then can an MP earn more than a judge?

Ntegye Asiimwe,
nasiimwe@gmail.com