Parliament vets newly appointed judges, opposition raises concerns

Parliament’s Appointments Committee, chaired by Speaker Anita Among, vetted newly appointed judges for various courts on Monday. President Yoweri Museveni appointed the judges.

Among those vetted was Deputy Chief Justice Flavian Zeija, who is replacing retiring Justice Richard Buteera.

However, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, a member of the committee, expressed discomfort with the appointment of Peter Kinobe, whom he described as a politician. Ssenyonyi argued that political actors should not serve as judicial officers because their neutrality would be questionable.

“I did have a concern about one of the appointees, that is Senior Counsel Simon Peter Kinobe who in the last election ran for the NRM flag but he did not get it and for a while, he has been a panelist on talk shows an an NRM activist,” he said.

Ssenyonyi also declined to approve judges appointed in an acting capacity for the High Court, citing concerns about their security of tenure when making judgments.

Some of the appointed judges will serve under the Supreme Court, eight as Court of Appeal Justices, and 21 as acting High Court Judges.

Written by Prossy Kisakye