Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao is in the spotlight for tampering with the independence of the Judiciary.
In a statement released by the Uganda Law Society on Tuesday morning and signed by President Bernard Oundo, the society blames Minister Mao for interfering with a court order. They say he instructed the Acting Assistant Inspector General of Police to put Mr Francis Ishanga back in possession of a disputed property, going against an existing court order.
“We warn the police and other government agencies not to follow unlawful instructions from the Minister. Instead, we advise the affected parties to follow legal procedures like review or appeal in court,” said ULS in their statement.
The issue revolves around Civil suit No. 22 of 2024 Francis Ishanga and others Vs Kellen Karemeera and two others.
This criticism of Minister Mao is part of Uganda Law Society’s ongoing concern about threats to judicial independence, especially by members of the executive and top judiciary officials.
It follows previous criticism of Justice Byaruhanga’s handling of a land dispute involving Total Energies and Tilenga Oils, which led to an attempted extraordinary conference that was stopped by the court.
The Law Society also opposed President Museveni’s involvement in the Court of Appeal’s decision on the sale of Muslim Property when he wrote to the Chief Justice urging the judiciary to ‘use common sense.’
Additionally, the Law Society criticized the Principal Judge for instructing the head of the Commercial Division of the High Court, Justice Stephen Mubiru, to stop taking on new cases until he cleared his current workload.
Efforts to reach Minister Norbert Mao are ongoing, and more details will be available during subsequent bulletins on NBS TV.
