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Who are the seven top judges retiring this year?
Combo: Supreme Court Justice Faith Essy Mwondha and Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji, the deputy head of the High Court-Criminal Division.
What you need to know:
- The judicial officers will leave service between March and November.
- ccording to Article 144(1) of the 1995 Constitution, a judicial officer may retire at any time after attaining the age of 60 years.
At least seven top judicial officers are set to retire this year upon clocking their respective retirement age, this publication has learned.
Among those due to leave are Supreme Court Justice Faith Mwondha who signs out in March; Soroti resident judge Henry Peter Adonyo who bows out in June; Justice Godfrey Namundi, the head of Mbale High Court who retires in May, and Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji, the deputy head of the High Court-Criminal Division, who will hang up his judicial robes in November.
Land Division head Justice Alexandra Nkonge Rugadya.
Others are Justice Alexandra Nkonge Rugadya, the head of the Land Division of the High Court who also leaves in November; Mr Elias Omar Kisawuzi, a registrar at the Commercial Division of the High Court and a former spokesperson of the Judiciary; who equally leaves in November and Mr Freddie Awacnedi, a Chief Magistrate who departs in September.
What the law says
According to Article 144(1) of the 1995 Constitution, a judicial officer may retire at any time after attaining the age of 60 years.
The same constitutional provision says in the cases of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice, a Justice of the Supreme Court, and a Justice of Appeal, on attaining the age of 70 years an official may be retired. The Principal Judge and a judge of the High Court, on attaining the age of 65 years are free to also retire.
Chief Magistrate Freddie Awacnedi.
Registrars and magistrates retire at the age of 60.
“In each case, subject to Article 128(7) this Constitution, on attaining such other age as may be prescribed by Parliament by law; a judicial officer may continue in office after attaining the age at which he or she is required by this clause to vacate office, for a period not exceeding three months necessary to enable him or her to complete any work pending,” the Constitution says.
The pending retirement of the seven judicial officers will adversely impact the Judiciary, which is already understaffed and struggling with case backlog running into thousands of unheard or untried matters.
Dr Rose Nassali Lukwago, the Secretary to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the government body that is mandated to recruit judicial officers, told Monitor last Thursday that: “For us to embark on the recruitment process to replace retiring judicial officers, we await the declarations made by the Judiciary. So far, we have only received one declaration.”
Speaking to this publication at the weekend, Ms Sarah Langa Siu, the Chief Registrar, wished the retiring judicial officers a good ending in their last lap.
Registrar Elias Kisawuzi.
About Mr Adonyo
He has been a career judicial officer who rose through the ranks of a magistrate, to the registrar, Chief Registrar before being elevated to the position of High Court Judge.
As a High Court Judge, he worked at several stations including the Commercial Division and the Soroti circuit.
Justice Adonyo handled the controversial case of businessman Ham V DTB Uganda and DTB Kenya over a loan.
Soroti Resident Judge Henry Peter Adonyo.
About Ms Mwondha
She was born on March 16, 1954 and she went to Makerere University for Bachelor of Laws (1974–77) and attended the Law Development Centre (1977- 1978).
Her career started in 1979 when she was appointed Grade II Magistrate before serving as as acting chief magistrate from 1978. In 1994, Mwondha was elected Jinja Woman Delegate to the Constituent Assembly. She had been a member of the National Resistance Council. In 1996, she was appointed commissioner of the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
In 2001, she was appointed a Judge of the High Court. Four years later, she was appointed Inspector General of Government.
In 2000, she was appointed a member of the Uganda Christian University Council. She is also a member of the Global Board, the United Bible Society and was appointed to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land on September 8, 2015.
About Mr Namundi
While at the Family Division of the High Court in 2020, he ruled that is unlawful to give away a matrimonial home without consent of the surviving spouse.
Mbale Resident Judge Godfrey Namundi.
About Ms Rugadya
She was previously at the Family Division of the High Court where she handled a high profile divorce case of the late Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah and Lady Winnie Amoo in 2016.
