Judiciary asks officer in sexual harassment case to respond

Kampala. The Ministry of Justice has ordered the Deputy Solicitor General, who is accused of sexually harassing a junior colleague, to file his defence.
A senior state attorney, Ms Samantha Mwesigye, accuses Mr Christopher Gashirabake, of sexually harassing her for more than 10 years.
Mr Francis Atoke, the Solicitor General, in a May 14 statement, said he has since instituted a Sexual Harassment Committee to look into the allegations, adding that the findings will be released soon.

“I am aware that the committee has since reviewed the evidence that Ms Mwesigye submitted to my office vis a vis the Employment Act 2006 and the Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations 2012. On April 29, the committee requested Ms Mwesigye to submit additional evidence if any. The committee has similarly written to the accused to tender in his response to the allegations,” the statement reads in part.

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Mr Atoke stated that the ministry has taken established structures to address the matter and will handle it to its conclusion.
He urged the public and other stakeholders to allow the committee carry out its investigations without undue influence.

In a March 6, 2019 dossier to Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, Ms Mwesigye accused Mr Gashirabake of having started sexually harassing her when he supervised her as a clerkship student.
The senior state attorney states that in all the sexual attempts, she never responded to Mr Gashirabake’s requests.
Mr Gashirabake has since declined to comment on the sexual allegations labelled against him.

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