Museveni trashes Owiny Dollo request for money to deliver justice
The President also urged the Judges to adopt and share with colleagues the National Resistance Movement Government's core principles of Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-economic Transformation and Democracy if they want to be part and parcel of the system's development agenda.
Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo’s request to have the Judiciary’s budget enhanced has been scolded by President Yoweri Museveni who said the Judiciary needs to plan well for the funds allocated to them to execute their mandate.
Owiny-Dollo believes that with an enhanced budget, they can be able to improve the Judiciary’s infrastructural setup and recruit more judicial officers to deal with the judicial challenges they face.
“What if the money is not enough, what do we do? Should we say that a country without money will have no justice? Is that what you are saying?” the President asked Owiny-Dollo.
“Me, my answer is when we were in the bush, controlling the Luweero Triangle, we were having serious justice without money,” he added, making reference to their activities 40 years ago.
“I have told these people that it is not acceptable to say that a country cannot defend itself if it has no money. We shall defend ourselves with or without money,” the President emphasized.
He then requested Judges to use the available resources accorded to the Judiciary to ensure justice for all Ugandans.
The President said this while officiating at the opening of the 24th Annual Judges’ Conference held at Mestil Hotel, Kampala, today.
The four-day event is running under the theme: “The Judiciary Transformation Agenda: Enhanced Access to Justice.”
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, informed the President that the Administration of the Judiciary Act which he supported throughout its process of enactment until he signed it into law is an important piece of legislation in governing the Judiciary.
“Your Excellency, once the Act is fully operationalised, I am very certain the Judiciary will be sustainably transformed into a new Judiciary that will see a tremendous reduction in and elimination of case backlog, timely delivery of justice, increased investment and economic growth as a result of investor confidence in the justice system of Uganda, taking judicial services nearer to the people, promoting peace, the rule of law and constitutionalism in the country,” Mao said in a statement read for him by the Attorney General, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka.
