The litigant who assaulted a female magistrate inside a Masindi Court last year had no justifiable cause for the violence, an internal Judiciary investigation has concluded.
According to an investigation report made to the Chief Justice, Bart M. Katureebe, recently by the Inspectorate of Courts, the court staff at the Masindi Magistrates Court were not at fault.
“Basing on the above findings, the allegations against the Judicial Officers and Clerk were baseless, unfounded and arose as a result of losing the matter above,” the report signed by Deputy Registrar (Inspectorate), Agnes Nkonge, read in part.
Fredrick Ford Kyagonza, 33, a medical clinician and resident of Masindi Municipality assaulted and injured then Masindi Chief Magistrate, Ms. Catherine Agwero, on December 13, 2017. The magistrate had just committed him to civil prison for six months for failure to pay a Shs4,899,000 debt.
For his violent action, the trial Masindi Magistrates Court subsequently convicted Kyagonza and sentenced him to seven years in jail.
Kyagonza earlier lost, with costs, a civil suit filed against him by Masindi District Local Government and a one Kiganda Abdallah. High Court Judge, Rugadya Atwooki subsequently dismissed his application for Civil Revision of the lower court decision.
On Kyagonza’s claims that the Court failed to handle his complaint and instead read to him a forged ruling, the Inspectorate’s finding was that there was only one ruling on the file – the one signed by Judge Atwooki.
The Report recommended that the litigant concentrates on pursuing the appeal he already filed.
The Inspector of Courts, is mandated to investigate and evaluate complaints from the public against both judicial officer and other court staff and recommend appropriate action against the officer found at fault.
