By Mulengera Reporters
Justice Dr. Douglas Singiza Karekona, the amiable Judge of the High Court of Uganda who recently endured public bashing on social media after he sent an ailing Col Kizza Besigye back to Luzira at a time many thought he should have ordered for his release to go receive medical treatment he seemed to be un urgent need of, has defended the President’s decision to appoint him Chairman of the all-important Judicial Service Commission (JSC) at the time his own brother-in-law Jimmy Okello (who marries his own sister Eng Dorothy Okello) powerfully serves as a Commissioner or member on the same Commission.
In a phone interview over the weekend, Justice Singiza explained to Mulengera News that there was nothing wrong with that and disregarded those quietly murmuring that his latest deployment at JSC creates perception problems for a Commission which is supposed to be above board given the sensitivity and importance of the work it does-namely the recruitment of all judicial officers while reprimanding errant ones who engage in misconduct.
Concerned Uganda Law Society (ULS) members say that the two close relatives will have to frequently disclose their family ties to the Commission and thereafter be required to stay away from certain matters where potential conflict of interest may arise or be anticipated. Lawyers in private practice (who didn’t want to be quoted for fear of retribution) fear that having to be required to keep doing such recusal could create Coram problems for the Commission and thereby slowing down business while complicating decision making at the same time.
This is how a concerned ULS member elaborated on the impending dilemma: “The Commission already has Coram problems because the ULS doesn’t have representation there anymore since we disregarded Norah Matovu and Senior Counsel Ruth Ssebatindira. You have Badru Lubega Wagwa & Jimmy Okello who represent the public and Frank Musingwire who represents the PSC and Justice Elizabeth Musoke who represents the Judiciary and the AG Kiwanuka Kiryowa who is an ex-officio. The other person is Dr. Rose Nassali who serves as the Secretary to the Commission.”
But Dr. Singiza says there is nothing unusual about a senior Judge like him chairing a Commission where his brother-in-law is a member. During the weekend interaction with Mulengera News, Dr. Singiza asserted that if there was anything wrong, strange or unusual about that you wouldn’t be having Gen MK serving as the CDF when his father is the President or even Alfonse Owinyi-Dollo serving as the Chief Justice at the time his own wife, Florence Nakachwa, is a Justice of the Court of Appeal over which he has some supervisory authority.
Dr. Singiza says what matters is effective service delivery which is going to be rendered at the Kingdom Kampala-based Judicial Service Commission notwithstanding his close family relationship with Commissioner Jimmy Okello.
The truth of the matter is that Justice Singiza’s dad, the late Karekona, was a brother to the late Prof Patrick Rubaihayo who was the father of Dr. Eng Dorothy Okello, the wife of Commissioner Jimmy Okello. This makes Dorothy and Singiza siblings and they grew up together both of them raised by Patrick Rubaihayo who was a Makerere agriculture professor and a leading MP from Mbarara during the UPC days.
A former Obote II Minister, Prof Rubaihayo (who died last year) is actually the man who raised Dr. Singiza after his own biological dad (the professor’s brother) died when his son Douglas was still very young. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
