All promotions of judicial officers in Uganda are based on merit and competence, the Judiciary has said.
Reacting to a group of about 60 anonymous magistrates who operate under a shadowy umbrella dubbed the Marginalised Magistrates Advocacy Plan (MMAP), the judiciary released a statement dismissing claims that the organisation’s members, who are operating clandestinely, had been side-lined in promotions.
According to the statement dated May 12 and issued by the Chief Registrar of Courts of Judicature, Paul Gadenya, members of MMAP have been sending anonymous and threatening e-mails to different Judicial Service Commission (JSC) officials, with a poignant one being sent to the Secretary of the Kagole Kivumbi on May 6, warning him of severe consequences if he failed to ensure their promotion.
In the communication to Kagole Kivumbi, the MMAP members issued a two week ultimatum to him to act on their ‘delayed’ promotions lest he face their wrath.
Some time back over sixty magistrates wrote to the JSC, the body that vets all judicial officers, claiming they had worked for the last ten years without promotion, and that their junior colleagues had surpassed them.
But Chief Registrar Gadenya thinks otherwise: judicial officers should not violate the Penal Code; they should use the established channels that include writing to the JSC through his office.

He then chided the grumbling magistrates: “The occupation of judicial officers is based on competence. You enter on merit and will be promoted on merit. Anonymous messages cannot get anybody promoted.”
However, in the same statement Gadenya says the judiciary is equally concerned about the issue of delayed promotions of judicial officers.
And, according to the Chief Registrar, on February 10 2015 he forwarded to the JSC 30 names of magistrates who had not been promoted in a long time, some for as long as 16 years, explaining their plight and how it had affected their work.

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Kampala-President Yoweri Museveni is set to meet Buganda kingdom Prime Minister, Charles Peter Mayiga at his Rwakitura country home.
Eagle Online, was informed through a reliable source, Mr Mayiga drove to Rwakitura this morning to meet the head of state.
By the time of post it was not clear what the two were to discuss but Ms Linda Nabusayi, the Deputy Presidential Press Secretary, confirmed the meeting and said details were to come later.
“We are in Rwakitura today only meeting Mayiga and LC3 chairpersons from Busoga later,” she said.
Mr Museveni and Mayiga are meeting one-on-one and this is the first meeting under his reign as the kingdom prime minister.
Under Mayiga’s two – year reign, there has been a stable and cordial relationship between the Mengo establishment and the central government.
Previously, Mengo used to resent central government and most of the blame was hinged around the return of Buganda properties which the central government took over during the reign of ex-President Milton Obote in 1966.
Last year on April 13, government handed over about 213 titles to the Buganda kingdom.

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The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has set Wednesday May 13 as the date for the second phase of the party’s grass root elections.
The first phase was concluded last week and Michael Kabaziguruka, a member of the FDC Electoral Commission said the party conducted a successful election exercise in the Teso, Rwenzori and West Nile regions.
Speaking to journalists at the weekly press conference held every Monday, Mr. Kabaziguruka said that second phase exercise will cover over 100 districts in the regions of Busoga, Bunyoro, Toro, Kigezi, West Ankole, East Ankole, East Buganda, North Buganda, Central Buganda, South Buganda, Lango, Acholi, Bugisu, Sebei and Karamoja.
“We are building our party structures right from village, parish, sub-county, constituency and districts,” he said and added that the one-week exercise would end on May 20.
In Kampala, he said, the party elections will be held after the conclusion of the second phase.
He further claimed that unlike other party elections that were marred by irregularities the FDC party elections were fair and successful. “Our eternal processes are so fair, we do our work free of bias, we have no petitions from those areas,” he said.
It was also revealed at the conference that the National Council meeting will be held on May 25. FDC. Members of Parliament (MPS), district chairpersons on National Executive Committees will participate. “It will be held to set an agenda for the delegates’ conference to be held on June 11,” Mr. Kabaziguruka said adding that after the delegates conference, a date will be set when party members that want to run on the party ticket will be elected. “It is not automatic that our party president will automatically stand on the party ticket as our presidential candidate for 2016 elections,” he emphasized.
FDC president Major Gen Mugisha Muntu was elected as party president in November, 2012 and his term in office is expected to expire in 2017.

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