Ugandan Judiciary on Strike

by publicreader | March 7, 2007 at 05:38 pm

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The United Nations has condemned the Ugandan executive's invasion of a court in which one of the judges set bail for persons accused of treason. Judges went on s trike to protest, and will be joined by the country's lawyers next week:

The United Nations human rights office in Uganda has called on the Government to fully respect the independence of the judiciary after the intrusion of armed police at the High Court in Kampala, the capital, condemning it as a “blatant interference with the independence of the administration of justice by the executive branch.”

The fracas arose when a judge approved the bail application of a group known as the People's Redemption Army. The supposed members were released from custody, only to be re-arrested by armed police. A journalist and was injured, and police apparently beat a lawyer unconscious, according Reuters correspondent Tim Cocks.

On the heels of this assault, the lawyers declared that they would stage a strike beginning next Monday, the day the judges were to return to work. The lawyers' action is expected to delay the resumption of proceedings for at least three more days.

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