By Mulengera Reporters
On Tuesday, Makindye-based Utilities, Standards & Wildlife Court Chief Magistrate Her Worship Gladys Kamasanyu called upon government MDAs prosecutors who come to prosecute criminal cases in her Court to emulate the high excellence levels and dedication to work consistently exhibited by their peers from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
Kamasanyu was responding to prosecutors from standards enforcement agency UNBS and others who had to prosecute cases relating to electricity infrastructure vandalism who, as always, asked for an adjournment of trial on grounds that their prosecution witnesses had once again not been able to make it to court.
Clearly unhappy with this, Kamasanyu called upon the state prosecutors concerned to begin taking their work more seriously. Whereas one of the lawyers asked for an adjournment due to witnesses’ absence, another prosecutor said his unpreparedness to proceed should be understood in the context of the fact that he had just taken over personal conduct of the case from a colleague who had gone on leave.
The Magistrate said this lack of readiness to proceed with the case was inexcusable because the accused persons, young men barely 30, had been on remand for long because of the prosecution’s failure to expeditiously make out their case.
Remandees’ relatives who were in the court were unhappy and were overheard outside court demanding that especially those prosecuting UEDCL-related cases had better become serious prosecutors because the company already has enough reputation problems.
Her Worship Kamasanyu contrasted the above with the excellence and promptness with which prosecutors from UCC and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) prosecute their cases at her Court. She explained that the prosecutors from UWA are these days very efficient-always coming to court on time and always ready with their witnesses ready to testify and give evidence for the state.
She asserted that because of that, decision makers at the Makindye court don’t regret dedicating specific days for cases being handled by prosecutors from UWA. She said on their allocated days, prosecutors from UWA come very well prepared and a lot of work always gets done, which partly explains why UWA prosecution cases are always concluded in record time.
The Magistrate added that the energy, sense of purpose and dedication the prosecutors from UWA always exhibit make it possible for the trial Magistrate to have sessions for the whole day, sometimes sitting beyond even 6pm in the evening. That way, lots of works gets to be done and thereby eliminating backlog while ensuring timely delivery of justice for both the prosecution and the accused persons.
She unequivocally stated that no delays or professional indolence ought to be tolerated because hers is a specialized court whose purpose can only be realized if all stakeholders-namely the judicial officers, prosecution and defense counsel-do what they are each mandated to do within the stipulated time. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
