Skip to main content

Uganda Law Society asks Lawyer to pull down Facebook post.

Automated
Blog Post.
yer Eron Kiiza at High court in Mubende on July 11 this year as the victims of the Kaweesi evictions in Mubende await for the Judge in their first day in court since October 2018
A human rights lawyer and activist, Eron Kiiza has come under fire for allegedly writing offensive Facebook posts against the Mubende resident judge, Joseph Murangira. 
Uganda Law Society (ULS) a body charged with ensuring high levels of professionalism among lawyers, has asked him to ‘withdraw’ the posts.
Simon Peter Kinobe, the ULS president, says his attention has been drawn to a sustained social media campaign accusing and attacking the person of justice Murangira and the manner in, which he handled a land matter before him in Mubende.  
The said posts are in respect to an on matter registered as miscellaneous cause number 11 of 2019 Ssematimba John and 23 others Vs Kaweesi George and others at Mubende High court. 
“In the said posts, you expressly and by innuendo refer to the presiding judge; Justice Joseph Murangira as a “Mafia” a member of “the troublesome trio” and also attach multifarious photos of the learned judge clad in judicial robes. You accuse him of “mishandling the case”, playing games and being “in bed with tormentors” and “biased’’ among others,” Kinobe states in his July 17 letter to Kiiza.
According to Kinobe, advocates, by the virtue of their appointment are officials of the court and should espouse, protect and uphold the principle of fair hearing enshrined under Article 28 of the Constitution of Uganda, which requires that a person shouldn’t be condemned unheard.           

“By using social media to attack a judicial officer, you violate this rule and deny the judge an opportunity to be heard,” Kinobe says. Adding that; “Comments in the media by an advocate in personal conduct are of a matter contrary to the advocates (professional) conduct regulations and in this particular case border criminality.”   

Justice Joseph MurangiraKinobe notes that there are alternative avenues to handle errant judges in case they are found to have bias and or unbecoming conduct. The avenues, according to Kinobe, include raising complaints through the principal judge, chief justice or the Judicial Service Commission, the body that is legally mandated to deal with errant officers.  
In his July 18 response to Kinobe, Kiiza denies posting any innuendos, saying that he is a human rights lawyer who has advocated for it for a long time.    

“Social media is not inconsistent with Article 28 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution. If it were so, you would certainly not have judicial officers with social media accounts,” Kiiza says.  
Adding that; “Social media gives life and meaning to freedom. …I am sure that contrary to your suggestions, I committed no crime in using social media to give voice to the problems of the people of Mubende evicted from five villages.”   
In his three-page response coloured with poetic language, Kiiza notes that while lawyers “must water the gardens of judicial independence”, that must not blind them into shielding themselves and the public from the necessity of a war on judicial impunity. 
“A burning house of advocates. The greatest house of an advocate is freedom. More so, the freedom of one’s mouth. When padlocks, however disguised, hail from the person or the office of the ULS president, danger lurks,” Kiiza notes.  
According to Kiiza, the ULS president did not, in his letter specify any rules he had violated, but seemed to move to silence him.  

“I had hoped, that the weight of your office and the spirit of your letter would give voice, even in one word, to the plight, pain and puzzle of the thousands of evictees whose unfathomable pain and violation have left me with no choice but to ventilate it through my Facebook account besides other for a,” Kiiza states.   
Adding that; “Are you similarly irked by people who praise judges on social media or it is those who criticize them on social media that rub you the wrong way? Social media hymns of praise for our judges must accommodate interludes of criticism. Love poems should be juxtaposed with freedom songs in our digital interactions with the bench.”  
Earlier this month, the chief justice Bart Katureebe tasked justice Murangira to respond to allegations of bias leveled against him in a July 4 petition by more than 3000 people evicted from their homes in Mubende district.

The evictees from Kambuye, Kyabaana, Kikoono, Lwensanga and Kanseera villages in Mubende district asked Katureebe to remove Murangira from their matter.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

UGANDA ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO ELIMINATE NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS (IDs) FOR 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS.

The elimination of using National IDs (Ndagamuntu) for the 2021 elections should not have come as a surprise. One would be very NAIVE to think that Bobi Wine has not prepared for this in his Business Plan under the RISK section. It is public knowledge that our EC is not independent.  It is also public knowledge that Military Dictator Yoweri Museveni will never lose an election. What stunned us this morning is when we noticed that on social media, people were mocking Bobi with his "get your Ndagamuntu".  We are on record for saying to all Our readers that the National ID is like Apartheid in South Africa. Students of History would know how those IDs were being used to arrest people, deny them jobs, deny them basic services. Consequently, Bobi was not wrong and will never be wrong on the Ndagamuntu. Except the ones attacking him and mocking him forget that in Uganda, now, no National ID (Ndagamuntu), no service.  If you have not been denied registering your child i...

Here is Why Our Utterances For Praying Jesus And God To Come Liberate Ugandans, May Be Misplaced. This Phrase is like inform of a Letter To Some Categorized Section Of Ugandans.

https://m.facebook.com/yusufosuta/photos/a.1896701010557789/2070383359856219/?type=3 OPEN LETTER TO NRM SUPPORTERS - NATIONAL ROBBERS MOVEMENT. .................................................................................. Last week of March, a friend told me to pray for Uganda.  I told him that he was an Idiot and we have prayed for too long and we are still hungry and sick and Jesus is not coming soon to liberate us. He then ignored the STUPID and sent me a picture we all now know.  It got me totally messed up.  This guy was telling me to pray then sends a picture of men bowing down in blood.  He might have meant guns but I blocked him because his utterances of praying for Uganda were misplaced. I unblocked him 3 weeks later and asked him about praying and assassinations.  His reply "eithrr prayers or guns or both". I hate violence with a passion.  So he is now blocked in like FOREVER. Do you feel safe?  Do not feel safe. Uganda regim...

The Full List of Permanent Secretaries Appointed by President Museveni.

By virtue of the Powers given to the President by Article 174 (2) of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, I hereby, appoint the following as Permanent Secretaries as indicated below: 1. Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet- Lucy Nakyobe 2. Deputy Head of Public Service And Secretary to Cabinet - Deborah Katuramu 3. State House Comptroller - Jane Barekye 4. Principal Private Secretary to the President- Dr. Kenneth Omona 5. Principal Private Secretary to H.E. the Vice President - Alex Kakooza 6.  Office of the Prime Minister - Keith Muhakanizi 7.  Office of the President - Yunus Kakande 8.  Ministry of Agriculture, Animal - Industry and Fisheries David Kyomukama Kasura (Maj. Gen.) 9.  Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs- Rosette Byengoma 10. Ministry of Education and Sports -       Kate Lamaro  11. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development -   Batebe Irene  12. Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Vincent Bag...