Katureebe hands over Shs1.9b justice centre to Rubirizi

Chief Justice Bart Katureebe has commissioned a Shs1.9b Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) centre in Rubirizi District to ensure extension of judicial services.
“Out of every 100 people who have a justice need, only 5 per cent are able to access our courts, which means there is still a big problem in accessing justice,’’ Chief Justice Katureebe said on Tuesday.
The centre comprises a court house, police and Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
The Chief Justice said residents of Rubirizi have been relying on Bushenyi, their parent district, to get justice, which has sometimes been an inconvenience. Rubirizi was carved out of Bushenyi in 2010.
He said JLOS will now focus on extablishing a prison in the area since the nearest is in Nyamushekyera, Bushenyi, about 55km from Rubirizi.
“We do not have a prison here but am hoping that JLOS will continue providing other services because recently, I was in Kiruhura [District], they still have the same problem even in Nsika, people are remanded and taken to Bushenyi or Mbarara,” he said.
“So when a person is remanded to Nyamushekyera, sometimes Prisons may not get transport to bring him, so it means that he has missed court and his case goes on standstill, which means that justice has been delayed yet we say that justice delayed is justice denied,’’ the Chief Justice added.
He also warned against using the centre for politiking.
“Use this centre very well, politicians do not misuse our courts, do not bring your politics to court and police. Let police do its work and let us do our job,” Chief Justice Katureebe said.
“We give justice to everyone. Sometimes [we are abused] for deciding cases badly and so on. If you take sides, you fail the job,’’ he added.
While at the same function, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, said government is putting up justice centres to ensure social economic transformation of its citizens.
“The vision of this country is to transform it from a peasant to a modern and prosperous one with people in the middle class,’’ Prof Kamuntu said.
“You cannot transform this country when people are taking the law in their hands, the rule of law must be a cardinal point in our transformation process,” he added.