By Mulengera Reporters
On Tuesday, the appointments committee of Parliament sat to consider and approve the President’s decision to make Jane Frances Abodo the new Principal Judge. The same meeting considered the reappointment of majority members of the Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT) with exception of two namely Asuman Kiyingi and Joyce Nalunga who were not reappointed.
During the committee meeting on Tuesday, some MPs from Busoga led by Asuman Basalirwa tried to put up a fight in favour of Kiyingi. Faulting Attorney General Kiwanuka Kiryowa for refusing to advise the President properly on the LCT matters, the Basalirwa group demanded to know the criteria that was used and relied upon to drop Asuman Kiyingi who had been Vice Chairman of the Tribunal and Nalunga while unconditionally reappointing the rest.
The MPs also referred to the fact that the Judicial Service Commission had assessed all LCT members and unanimously recommended their names to the President for reappointment and demanded to know how that changed. Some of them wanted the AG Kiryowa to personally be compelled to explain alleged vendetta against Kiyingi and Nalunga.
The duo had previously taken the AG to the Constitutional Court protesting the government’s refusal to treat them with similar benefits as those enjoyed by Judges because they believed they are at the same level since their qualifications are the same and all of them have their appointment processed through the same JSC. This is understood to have angered people at the justice Ministry where the AG Kiryowa also sits.
Some MPs considered it controversial and unacceptable for the same AG to sit in and be part of the JSC assessment process involving the Kiyingi-Nalunga duo with whom he had previously battled in the Constitutional Court. The MPs demanded that the JSC be compelled to disclose reasons that were relied upon to eliminate Kiyingi and Nalunga.
The two were replaced by Prof Anthony Kakooza, who is the President of Christian Lawyers Fraternity and also a law lecturer at Makerere (who is the new Vice Chairman), and Ann Karungi who had previously been terminated from being a lecturer and administrator at LDC.
Kakooza’s promoters took advantage of the hostilities some at the Justice Ministry had towards Kiyingi, to vigorously recommend him. Karungi, sources say, had been promised some rehabilitational deployment in government to compensate her over the humiliating circumstances under which she was made to leave the service of LDC.
Mulengera News understands that, concerned officials had reached out to the President demanding to know why some powerful actors at the Justice Ministry were so much determined to stand in Asuman Kiyingi’s way and the big man from Rwakitura repeatedly kept advising that al such concerns be addressed to AG Kiryowa who he preferred to have the last word on all LCT matters.
During the Tuesday session, the Basalirwa group members asserted that the removal of Asuman Kiyingi didn’t augur well with members of the Islamic faith since he was the only Muslim on the Tribunal. The Basalirwa group members also made reference to the fact that the Minister of Ethics had, twice, in writing strongly recommended the reappointment of all LCT members for another five years, including both Asuman Kiyingi and Joyce Nalunga.
The MPs also wondered why anyone else would disregard the recommendation of the Minister who directly supervises and assesses the performance of work by the LCT members and instead go with other considerations. Some social media users have since resorted to contradicting and demonizing Prof Anthony Kakooza for accepting such controversial deployment at the LCT.
Some social media users have appealed to Prof Kakooza to turn in his bed and listen to his conscience as opposed to merely playing along as his long-built reputation can potentially get bruised. There are also claims that those determined to get rid of Asuman Kiyingi and Joyce Nalunga resented the two simply because their assertiveness and independent-mindedness was too discomforting to them. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
