The Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo has cautioned that the only way to fight the rise of organized crimes in Uganda is to come up with a body of well-trained persons both in the prosecution and investigations departments.
Justice Dollo made this call while speaking on Friday at the 6th Joan Kagezi Annual Memorial Lecture in Munyonyo where he said that organized crime is a new wave of crime and it must be dealt with in a different way.
“We are dealing with a new phenomenon and in dealing with it, it cannot be business as usual, we must pay more attention and equip ourselves with the means and ways to counter this wave of crime. We live in the fourth industrial revolution therefore we cannot use the tools of the second industrial revolution, to operate in the fourth industrial revolution, we be left behind,” he said.
Dollo added that the crimes of the fourth revolution such as organized crime will thrive in Uganda and will become a laughing stock if responsible parties don’t advance in their ways of executing their work.
“With the support from the government, we should as a country be able to hold our own against all these forces of evil coming from elsewhere to bring problems we are not familiar with in this country. Human trafficking, drug trafficking and so on and so forth. I have been informed by this year alone, the Directorate of Public Prosecution should be able to recruit over 100 personnel, if this one comes to pass it will be a game-changer. And I say so because in the criminal justice system, criminal cases overwhelm civil cases. And when it comes to fighting organised crimes, human resource is a vital element,” he said.
The Chief Justice noted that an effective justice system thrives on expeditious handling of cases. “It’s also our prayer that the capacity of the police in handling cases is strengthened so that when these matters come up, there is an expedited investigation, the expedited decision to make an expedited trial, that is what the constitution calls for.”
Meanwhile, organized crimes in East Africa are on a high and this has contributed to an increase in the risk of conflict or in its prolongation.
According to a recent report from Interpol titled, “Organized crime and armed conflicts in Eastern Africa” , organized crime thrives in conflict and other situations of violence in the region when goods and supplies are scarce, filling the demand often in association with armed groups. In some cases, revenue from criminal activities enables armed groups to finance their activities.
The report also shows that organized crime in East Africa is likely driven by vulnerabilities linked to armed conflict, violence, and instability combined with a high presence of natural resources, growing youth unemployment and corruption.
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