A case of the slows in Kampala

Derrick Kiyonga, writing here in The Monitor, traces the current slowdown in the adjudication of important cases by the Supreme Court o Uganda. Among the issues the court needs to address is the constitutionality of the exercise of court-martial jurisdiction over civilians. During the slowdown, the subordinate Constitutional Court has continued, by divided vote, to strike down the pertinent statutory provisions. Excerpt:

Critics of the Supreme Court like Mr Isaac Ssemakadde—the chief executive officer of Legal Brains Trust (LBT)—blame CJ Owiny-Dollo. They cite Rule 20 of the Supreme Court rules that states: “The sittings of the court and the matters to be disposed of at those sittings shall be determined by the Chief Justice and shall be advertised and notified in such a manner as the Chief Justice may direct; but nothing in these rules shall preclude the court from disposing of any business that has not been advertised or notified.”

CJ Owiny-Dollo told  Monitor that the delivery of judgments at the Supreme Court was complicated when Justices Muhanguzi and Paul Mugamba retired last year.  “We have not had justices until recently when [Justices Christopher Madrama, Elizabeth Musoke, and Stephen Musoke were appointed].”