Criminal Court Division judge Justice Yasin Nyanzi has advised young lawyers to avoid corruption.
Justice Nyanzi, who was speaking at the thanksgiving ceremony of youthful lawyer Nasser Mubiru, said members of the legal profession are prone to corrupt tendencies, the reason he personally attended Counsel Mubiru’s function, to offer guidance.
“I would have given the advice to the graduand through his chambers but I chose to come over following a phone call from the father Mr Twaha Kubo, so that what I say is witnessed by many including the parents and family of Nasser (Mubiru); so, if you want to remain corrupt free do not lose ‘corruption virginity’. The moment you lose ‘corruption virginity’ you will always be corrupt,” Justice Nyanzi told the graduand at his father’s home in Kitebi, on the outskirts of the Kampala city.
He noted that lawyers refer to their colleagues as ‘learned friends’, adding that all people in the legal profession think they have high integrity.
“That’s why the two different lawyers (opposite counsel) who are handling a case have a judge to evaluate their representation yet the judge’s decision can also be appealed,” the judge, renowned for his principles in respect to the application of law, mostly in respect to human rights, said.
Justice Nyanzi, who said he is the only legal practitioner to have practiced law in Uganda without going to the Law Development Centre (LDC, for a post-graduate diploma in legal practice), added: “The fact that all lawyers think that they know each and every thing has made them become so ignorant.”
