Remove restrictions on LDC admissions - Otafiire
Kampala. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire, has called for removal of the pre-entry exams for law graduates before they are admitted for the legal practice course at Law Development Centre (LDC).
He said every student who has studied law at a recognised university should be allowed to join LDC without academic restrictions. Maj Gen Otafiire reasoned that the pre-entry exams are not necessary because if the students do not measure up to the task academically, they will fail LDC exams.
“I will request that everybody who does legal training from a recognised university is given an opportunity to go to Law Development Centre (LDC) and fail under their own weight,” he said on Friday during the opening of the New Law Year in Kampala.
“If I am paying for myself at LDC, why stop me? I am not wasting any taxpayers’ money. Let everybody go, sit the exams and if I fail, let me repeat. It’s my money. Let’s get an understanding where we can allow our young people a chance to try their level best,” he added.
The minister advised the president of the Uganda Law Society, Mr Simon Peter Kinobe, not to worry about the quality of lawyers produced. He said the “factory” (LDC) will determine the quality.
Background
In 2010, the LDC management introduced pre-entry exams for every law graduate from different universities as a prerequisite for admission to the Bar course.
Those who fail to score a pass mark of 50 per cent or above are left out. The introduction of the pre-entry exams was intended to improve the quality of lawyers that the LDC had been churning out. Some major institutions of higher learning such as Makerere University and Uganda Christian University, Mukono had also introduced the pre-entry exams for students who intended to join for the Bachelor of Laws course.
It was intended to weed out weak students from pursuing the law course.
President Museveni, in his speech read by Vice President Edward Ssekandi, promised to buy pick-up trucks to facilitate adjudication of land cases.
“On the issue of land justice, government will avail vehicles to the Judiciary so that the judicial officers can visit the land in dispute. This issue is being addressed. It is important that a judicial officer at all times visits the land in dispute so as to clearly understand the issues before any decision and eventual eviction can be carried out,” Mr Museveni said in his speech.
