The Judiciary is courting Parliament to approve a supplementary request of Shs1.6 billion for the personal security of judges and other judicial officers.
This request is contained in the Supplementary Expenditure Schedule No.1 that was on Thursday, 23 March 2023 presented by Hon. Fox Odoi Oywelowo on behalf of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs before the Committee on Budget.
Odoi Oywelowo appealed to the Committee on Budget that is scrutinising the supplementary requests for different sectors to approve Shs1.6 billion to enhance the personal security of judges.
“The [Legal] committee was informed that judges and other judicial officers face security threats during the execution of their constitutional duties as a result of handling sensitive matters or cases…So, we recommend that Shs1.65 billion supplementary be approved to ensure that security of judges and other judicial officers is guaranteed,” he said.
He said in the recent past, there were attempts on the lives of judicial officers including the Principal Judge.
In 2015, Joan Kagezi, a prosecutor was gunned down in Kiwatule, a suburb in Kampala.
Odoi Oywelowo said the money will cater for the procurement of specialised security equipment for the protection of judges.
Kira Municipality Member of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju said the supplementary request does not cater for the security of all judges, but a few specific judges because of the specific assignments they were doing which came with threats.
