I have found it imperative to write and bring to the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) attention the following matters which require the commission’s consideration and action.
On February 8, 2023, JSC issued the final report on the events that took place at the Supreme court on March 18 and 19, 2021. The title of the final report was misleading and was at variance with the contents of the report, and the commission’s public claims that it had conducted a general inquiry into events that took place at the Supreme court.
The report included, among others, purported findings of the commission of a prima facie case of my alleged misconduct arising out of: (a) my decision to deliver my reasoned Rulings on March 18, 2021, after the chief justice had directed me not to do so.
(b) statements I made about the grabbing of my rulings and files, while I was executing my duties as a Justice of the Supreme court in the applications filed in the Kyagulanyi v Museveni Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2021.
(c) my alleged abscondment from duty; and (d) my alleged failure to deliver judgments. The commission’s report also made a recommendation to the President to set up a tribunal to investigate whether I should not be removed from office.
The commission issued its final report after failing/refusing and/or summarily dismissing: (a) my oral complaints against Chief Justice Owiny Dollo, which I made in open court at the Supreme court on March 18, 2021.
(b) my submission to the Commission dated November 15, 2021.
(c) a written complaint it had received and duly acknowledged from Robert Kyagulanyi, the petitioner in Kyagulanyi v Museveni Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2021; and (d) two complaints it had received and duly acknowledged from Male Mabirizi, who was an applicant in an application he filed under the said petition about the conduct of Chief Justice Owiny Dollo.
Furthermore, the commission conducted its discreet inquiry about me, with the full participation of Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, who was already compromised by conflict of interest and bias, arising from his previous role as counsel in the same presidential election petition and as a witness.
The commission also made its report, purported findings and recommendation to the President to set up a tribunal when Owiny Dollo had already submitted to it a written admission on April 6, 2021, that he had custody of my rulings and files and had also repeated the same admissions in his affidavit in support of the reply filed in Constitutional petition No. 30 of 2022.
The commission made this report and findings when the commission’s discreet inquiry about me was already a subject of Constitutional petition pending before the Constitutional court.
On July 18, 2023, I exercised my constitutional right to take early retirement and retired from the Supreme court. The commission’s unconstitutional and fake report misled President Museveni to unconstitutionally defer acceptance of my early retirement and to appoint an unconstitutional tribunal of inquiry in February 2025.
Based on the issues discussed and the reasons provided in my commentaries, the commission’s report, the recommendation to set up the tribunal and the appointment of the tribunal are all a nullity.
Considering Article 146(5) of the Constitution and the reasons given above, I call upon the commission’s members, to individually and collectively: (i) review the two commentaries I have submitted together with the commission’s final report’s purported findings and recommendation.
(ii) reconsider the complaints received against Chief Justice Owiny Dollo in 2021.
(iii) reconsider and reevaluate the admissions of the chief justice on the commission’s record.
(iv) save the image of the judiciary and of the commission. (v) help the country to avoid wasting scarce public resources.
(vi) rescind the unconstitutional final report under reference and recommendation made to the President on February 8, 2023; and (vii) issue the report of the general inquiry into the events that took place at the Supreme court.
I look forward to hearing from the commission.
The author is a retired justice of the Supreme court.