News coming in from California, USA indicates James Nagenda, brother to former Minister and Senior Presidential Press Advisor on Media Relations, John Nagenda, has died.

According to the statement issued by Ugandan North America Association (UNAA), Nagenda lost the long battle with cancer yesterday. James is survived by his wife and children.

The late Nagenda owned a newspaper, Collector in Greater Los Angeles Area

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Lasting peace and the prosperity that comes with it cannot be achieved without justice, the Commonwealth Secretary-General has declared, during a keynote speech in the Hague.

Patricia Scotland was addressing the International Criminal Court (ICC) as guest of honour for the opening of the new judicial year.

The distinguished lawyer and former Attorney General in the United Kingdom explained how a fair justice system is an indispensable precondition for democracy, adding that systems must be trustworthy and accessible if they are to be effective.

She said: “That is why building strong public institutions capable of delivering sustainable, democratic development, has always been central to the work of the Commonwealth.”

She added: “Whether justice is delivered through the International Criminal Court, domestic courts or other mechanisms, lasting peace is virtually impossible to attain without justice.

“Our Charter expresses it clearly – international peace and the rule of law are essential to the progress and prosperity of all.”

She highlighted how countries can enshrine recognition of international law in their domestic legislation as an important step towards increasing access to justice.

Praising the important role in promoting peace and security that the ICC plays, she said: “Commonwealth nations seek to realise their commitment to increasing access to justice. We realise that we need to keep in mind the victims of offences such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

“The ICC was not designed to hear from all victims of these crimes, so it is crucial for domestic justice systems to be equipped to provide some form of redress.

“The inclusion of international crimes in domestic law represents an important step in this process, to be followed then by effective prosecution.”

The Secretary-General outlined how the Commonwealth assists member countries in meeting their international obligations.

The Rome Statute, the treaty adopted in 1998 that established the ICC, has been ratified by 36 of the 53 Commonwealth countries – more than 60 percent of members.

The Commonwealth has developed a model law to assist further implementation of the Rome Statute, while extensive experience in legislative drafting and law reform can also help countries include international crimes in their domestic laws.

The Secretary-General also spoke on other elements of the Commonwealth’s long-standing programme of work to strengthen public institutions.

This includes curbing corruption through the development of anti-corruption benchmarks that will be presented to heads of government for endorsement at their next meeting in Rwanda in June this year.

She added: “The benchmarks address the importance of combating corruption in the court system and enabling the judiciary to operate effectively and independently.”

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Legislators on the Committee of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs are divided on the proposal within the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2019 to establish a panel of speakers saying it is unclear as has potential to cause discord in the leadership of Parliament.

The bill moved by Ndorwa MP, Hon Wilfred Niwagaba proposes a panel of three  speakers to assist the sitting speakers of Parliament in transaction of Parliament’s business arguing that it is tiring for a Speaker to chair the House for more than six hours as is the case currently.

“The Speaker and Deputy Speaker are human beings like any other person on earth. They get different engagements and also become exhausted; they need time to refresh yet Parliament’s business should not be affected,” said Hon Niwagaba.

Niwagaba made his proposals while was appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on Thursday, 23 January 2020.

He said that the speakers being proposed would be at the level of parliamentary committee chairpersons, and thus would not attract an extra charge on the consolidated fund.

“This proposal is intended to have specified persons as members of Parliament who can be called upon to assist the speaker when need arises” said Niwagaba.

This sparked dissenting views among legislators with a section of MPs rejecting the proposal that speakers would simply be called upon to chair sessions as and when need arises.

Hon Jovah Kamateeka (Mitooma District) said that the decisions made by these speakers would be doubted.

“Will the decisions of such speakers who are not facilitated financially and simply called upon to chair sessions be taken seriously?” she asked.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Jacob Oboth Oboth said that  it was ‘unattractive’ to have a constitutional amendment if the proposed panel is to be selected from committee chairpersons when need arises.

Bugweri County MP, Hon Abdu Katuntu rejected the proposal on the election of a panel of speakers saying it would cause discord in the leadership of Parliament.

“The speaker needs a panel she can closely work with; don’t bring this into elections.  It will be another problem in the leadership of Parliament,” Katuntu said.

To allay the fears of legislators, Niwagaba said the aim of the bill is to introduce a panel of speakers in the Constitution and have details such as qualifications of the speaker, the way they will run business debated on a later stage and enclosed in Parliament’s Rules of Procedures.
The bill also proposes expansion of the category of the citizenry that can challenge a presidential election.

If the bill is passed into law, any voter who can gather 100 signatures from 2/3 of districts in Uganda is liable to challenge the presidential elections.

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