Unveiling Judiciary’s Shs115b twin towers

President Museveni today unveiled to the public and court users the nine-storey twin towers to house the Appeal and Supreme courts.
 
The impressive and identical buildings that stand side by side have changed the face of the Constitution Square area in the city centre.
 
The Court of Appeal is also the Constitutional Court.
 

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo said the launch is historic and marks the first time that the appellate courts, which have been using rented premises, get their own homes.
 
“So for the first time, the appellate courts are going to have their own permanent homes in so many years of their existence. They were also built entirely using taxpayers’ money,” Justice Owiny-Dollo said.

“Now we need to work very hard and show value for money for being in these new buildings that we now call home.”

The twin towers comprise basement parking big enough to accommodate 226 vehicles at once, customised courthouses, modern courtrooms, and chambers for justices, restaurants for judges and other court staff, a gym where the judges will exercise after work to keep healthy, childcare centres, and a conference hall, among other modern amenities.  Each twin tower has a conference hall that will accommodate up to 500 guests.

Justice Owiny-Dollo marvelled at how one of the court halls in the Supreme Court is one of the biggest in Africa and accommodates about 150 people. 
 
Background to appeal courts
Giving background to the appeal courts, Owiny-Dollo said the Court of Appeal was first established in 1967. 

He said it was then referred to as the East African Court of Appeal with each member country setting up its court.
 
“So when the East African Community broke up, Uganda remained with its court until 1987 when it was renamed the Supreme Court,” he said.
 
“The court didn’t have its premises and we had to be housed at Mengo, one of the properties of Buganda Kingdom until it relocated in 2010 to Plot 10, Upper Kololo Terrace, opposite Protea Hotel, during Benjamin Odoki’s reign as Chief Justice,” Owiny-Dollo said.
 
The Chief Justice said the court remained operational in the rented premises in Kololo until about two years ago when fire gutted his chambers, making the building unfit for occupancy. 

He said this forced the court to relocate to Nakasero, opposite the Ministry of Health headquarters.
 
“During that time of looking for where to relocate following the fire incident, we were like in the wilderness. We didn’t work. We tried to get space for the justices at the High Court but still things didn’t work out,”  Justice Owiny-Dollo said.
 
Eventually, he said, the Supreme Court, which has been wandering in the wilderness for the last 57 years, has got its beautiful and permanent home.
 
Turning to the history of the Court of Appeal/ Constitutional Court, Justice Owiny-Dollo said the court came into existence following the amalgamation of the 1995 Constitution.
 
Justice Owiny-Dollo said its first home was on Raja Chambers on Parliament Avenue where it was until about 15 years ago when the court relocated to Twed Towers on Kafu Road in Nakasero where they also rented.

Saving costs 
Mr Pius Bigirimana, the permanent secretary and secretary to the Judiciary, said with the towering buildings, the Judiciary is set to save Shs6b annually that they have been spending on rent for the two courts.
 
Every year, the Judiciary spends more than Shs10b in rent for the courts countrywide.  This shows that it’s the two appellate courts that were taking the lion’s share in rent.
 
“The cost of the building, with everything including furniture in it is Shs115b. The government is now going to save about Shs6b in annual rent,” Mr Bigirimana said last week.
 
This means the government will now pay only Shs4b in rent for the remaining courts that are not in their own premises countrywide. 
 
Mr Bigirimana said the procurement for the building started in September 2019 with the actual construction starting in March 2020 by the Seyani Brothers, a construction company.  

He said the estimated time for completion was three years but they had to add one more floor to accommodate the conference halls.

“This saw the construction period stretch to four years though we have finished in a record time of three years and 10 months,” Mr Bigirimana said.
 
The Judiciary’s accounting officer expressed pleasure that the institution is going to save between Shs3b and Shs5b that it has been spending in conferences, seminars, and workshops, annually.
 
This is because the twin towers have huge conference halls to accommodate large numbers of people.
 
“Even the judges’ conferences which we have been spending about Shs700m to organise every year will now be hosted in our own conference halls.” Mr Bigiriman said.
 
Justice Owiny-Dollo said the twin building is one of the government projects where money was saved (about Shs16b) as there were no inflations as it’s done with other government projects whose cost prices are inflated twice or thrice. 

Change. “The twin towers have completely changed the look of the Constitution Square and it is a social pride to us. The fact that we are not renting for the appellate courts and are not under the whims of landlords, gives us a breathing space to do our judicial work without any worries. The completion is a great celebration. We can be judged harshly because there should now be value for money,” Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo.

New home. “I applaud the top management of the Judiciary and the government for finally giving the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal a place to call home. We thank you for this enormous investment and congratulate the Chief Justice for this historic acquisition. Like Oliver Twist [character in Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist], we will ask for more so that all the courts of judicature get out of rented premises and go to places they call home,”  Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the Attorney General.

Transformation. 
“So, my lord, you are putting pressure on the rest of the government. I want to thank the secretary to the Judiciary, my friend Mr Pius Bigirimana, for his transformational leadership. This is a remarkable achievement, maybe other permanent secretaries can learn from him. Of course, Mr Bigirimana needs to go for courses in diplomacy but maybe it helps not to be obsessed with being diplomatic,” Mr Norbert Mao, Justice Minister.

Bravo. “I congratulate the Judiciary on the completion of the construction of the new appellate courts. The new premises enhance access to justice by providing better working conditions for the appellate Bench. The buildings are a state-of-art giving the skyline of Kampala a magnificent look,” Mr Bernard Oundo, president of Uganda Law Society.

Decent place. 
“I’m excited about the completion of the twin buildings because it provides suitable and decent accommodation for dispensation of justice. You know the work of judicial officers involves long hours of sitting, hearing cases and writing judgments, which put them at greater risk of diseases associated with inactivity as well as poor physical health. Many judges find it difficult to go to public health clubs. We hope our judges will now have healthier bodies and a healthy body and mind will result in improved performance,” Ms Sarah Langa, the Chief Registrar.

Delivery. “We believe that with this good working environment, the justice seekers will be treated to fair, effective, and efficient justice delivery mechanisms at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court jurisdictions. We are proud of this milestone in the administration of Justice and wish the Judiciary a wonderful 2024,” Dr Sylvia Namubiru Mukasa, CEO LASPNET.

Achievement. 
“The completion of the construction of the twin tower buildings by the Judiciary is an awesome achievement. Henceforth, it will be easy for the justice service consumers to get the administrative services they deserve from one central location, itself a great stride for the country in terms of accessing and dispensing justice to Ugandans,” Dr Yorokamu Bamwine, retired Principal Judge.

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