First read:
How about Madudu , Mukula and Northern Uganda victims Mr. Ban Ki-Moon!!
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-about-madudu-mukula-and-northern.html
Stealing The Land Of The Poor Ugandans For The Sake Of Neo-Liberalism: Oxfam And Uganda Land Alliance Face Deregistration Over Exposing Museveni’s Land Grab Schemes
Judiciary to probe on alleged missing court file
Publish Date: Jul 05, 2014
This follows a protest by Justice Choudry to the
acting Chief Justice Steven Kavuma, requesting him to order for an
investigation as to how the file left the office of the Chief Registrar
or the office of the High Court judge.
“This phenomenon of files going missing is a
symptom of corruption and litigants have to endure the injustice,”
Choudry stated in his complaint to Justice Kavuma.
In his letter, a copy of which was seen by New Vision,
Choudry said that he had received a letter from the Principal Judge
through the Chief Registrar inquiring about the whereabouts of the file
which had gone missing in the judiciary.
The file was referenced Baleke Kayira Peter versus Attorney and Kaweri Coffee plantations Limited of 2002.
‘Mafia in the judiciary’
The letter read: “Last year in March, I gave a
judgment in the case in favour of the peasants of Kaweri farmers and
ordered that the sh20m that they paid into court for security of costs
be paid out forthwith.
“I was informed that the file was required by
Nakawa court before the monies could be released. However, I was most
reluctant to part with the file as I knew fully well that once this
sensitive file left my chambers it would disappear, because we have
mafia in the Judiciary. In the end I released the file to Nakawa court
with a provision that it must be returned to my chambers.”
In the writing, Choudry said the file “was
accompanied by my bodyguard, two lawyers and one lay man when it left my
chambers, so that it did not drop on the way”.
He further asserted that after the Nakawa court
registrar had confirmed that the file would be returned to the Chief
Registrar, the then Chief registrar duly acknowledged receipt of it.
However, the judge complained that his order was
not obeyed, because of some archaic procedures that delay justice in the
court all the time.
The farmers had to make an application to the Court of Appeal, which also ordered the release of the security monies.
Choudry, in his letter to the acting Chief Justice,
said: “But, now the farmers cannot be paid because the file is missing.
I note that the lawyers for the farmers are being tossed from one place
to another or from one court to another each day for the last one year.
“I fear we have mafias in the court, otherwise there is no rhyme, for such a massive file to be misplaced or to disappear.”
In an effort to get a comment from him, the Justice Kavuma – through his personal assistant, Dan Lubowa – referred New Vision to the Judiciary spokesperson, Elias Omar Kisawuzi, who expressed surprise over the alleged disappearance of the file.
“But, be that as it may, we shall cause an
investigation to establish how this file left the chambers of the
presiding judge to Nakawa Court registry and allegedly to the Chief
Registrar and eventually allegedly got lost or went missing or
misplaced, said Kisawuzi, who is also Judiciary’s registrar of planning.
“Other than the judge, I have not had an
opportunity to hear from any parties or their counsel about the loss of
the file,” he said.
