Justice Bart Magunda Katureebe has retired as Chief Justice of Uganda.
In his short letter of appreciation to stakeholders, Justice Katureebe who officially retired today Friday revealed that he is satisfied that he has managed to achieve many things as Chief Justice. He however, acknowledged that a lot more still needs to be done, particularly in the reduction of case backlog.
“I wish to take this opportunity to thank you all collectively and individually for the cooperation and support you have rendered to me, and the Judiciary as an institution during my tenure in office. It has indeed been a great honour and privilege to work with you all. “I believe that together we have registered some achievements in the Administration of Justice in the Country. I would urge all to extend the same support to the in-coming Chief Justice,” said Justice Katureebe.
While in his office for the last time as Chief Justice at the Judiciary headquarters in Kampala, Katureebe further told some of his staff that, retiring is not a crime but a privilege.
“I have retired and I’m going home. I want people to see that you can retire and go home. I am just winding up for the new person to come in.
“I’ll be coming to Kampala as a visitor, and maybe to the Supreme Court where I still have three months to finish my judgments. I also want to complete my book and I hope I can have the manuscript ready by December.”
His tenure ends on 20 June, 2020 Saturday, however, since the President has not yet appointed his replacement, he would on Monday’s hand over the office to his deputy, Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, who will serve in an acting capacity, pending the appointment of substantive chief justice.
“The Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) will be acting from Sunday, because I technically leave on Saturday 20th June midnight. After that, I will not be able to sign anything as Chief Justice” he said.
A joyful and contented Justice Katureebe said to a few of his staff that, his achievements will serve as a milestone in Judiciary “For me, I am very happy with where we have reached almost everything of mine has clicked”.
“The ECCMIS (Electronic Court Case Management Information System) is on course, the construction of the Appellate Courts is on course, the Administration of the Judiciary Bill, which was passed by Parliament and now assented to by the President (as of today) – that’s my achievement.
“When I joined the Judiciary (in 2005), judges were getting Shs5 million per month, but they are now getting an average of Shs25 million,” he said. “There was nothing in the law for the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice when they retire. We have not had a law in place providing for retirement benefits other than the pension and gratuity paid under the Pensions Act. Now we have the law in place providing retirement benefits for all judicial officers,” he said.
Justice Katureebe added that he dedicated 36 years of his work life to public service: “I worked for eight years as a state attorney; then I was a minister for 13 years, including service in the Constituent Assembly and Parliament – 21 years in government, plus the 15 years in the Judiciary, inclusive of the five years as Chief Justice.”
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