By Mulengera Reporters
Latest information reaching us indicates that, contrary to what many casual observers think, being DPP made Justice Jane Frances Abodo a much more powerful and influential figure than being made the Principal Judge.
Whereas DPP decides and has the last word on who gets criminally prosecuted or not, the PJ is merely the administrative head of the High Court. PJ is ordinarily a High Court Judge who only gets privileged with additional administrative responsibilities to oversee the deployment, transfers, sanctioning and welfare of fellow High Court Judges.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which is mandated with reprimanding errant judicial officers, will inevitably involve the PJ when working towards sanctioning of any Judge. This is so because the PJ has a lot of administrative supervision authority over all High Court Judges as the Chief Registrar concentrates on the Magistrates.
Unlike the DPP, who heads an institution and is treated in the national hierarchy as the head of institution, the PJ is under someone namely the Chief Justice as head of the institution. The PJ is number three in the judiciary hierarchy coming immediately below the CJ who heads the Supreme Court and DCJ who heads the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court.
Clearly becoming PJ diminishes Abodo, as opposed to adding much on her. Whereas she would access the President directly as head of institution of ODPP, Abodo will now require clearance of both the CJ and DCJ before seeking and obtaining any audience with the President.
Even stakeholders, like the country’s development partners, can now not have any direct audience with her unless they go through the CJ who is the head of the institution. Even at public functions, Abodo now as PJ can’t be personally introduced or recognized when her head of institution, the CJ, is present.
Being head of institution also comes with direct control and responsibility over resources entrusted to that institution, which Abodo loses by becoming PJ and ceasing to head the institution called ODPP.
Now knowledgeable insiders say that, aware that she would lose all this clout that comes with being head of institution, Abodo wasn’t exactly very enthusiastic about ceasing to be DPP and going for PJ.
Sources add that those whose toes she had stepped on and had taken offence with the assertiveness and independence with which she was going about certain criminal prosecution matters, went through their proxies close to Abodo to cajole her into applying for the Principal Judge job.
“Her original choice was staying on as DPP but it got to a point when she had no option anymore but to reluctantly apply for the PJ job,” says a well briefed source adding that Abodo’s successor at ODPP will soon be unveiled.
“Three people are being vetted including two insiders who have been working under Abodo at ODPP and one other person who is an outsider and currently works with another government MDA.” (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
