The Democratic Party (DP) has expressed frustration over the continued corruption that obstructs justice and the right to a fair hearing at the upcountry courts.
During a media briefing at the party headquarters on Balintuma Road in Nakulabye, DP spokesperson Ismail Kirya asked the Chief Justice to closely monitor upcountry courts to eliminate injustices in court.
“Poor monitoring of court cases upcountry has resulted in courts taking advantage to suppress justice that is out of the law,” Kirya said.
In a case dated December 11, 2024, in the Kitgum High Court, DP mayor for Pader, Kilama, was convicted with 33 other members; 13 were released, one of them passed on, and 19 remained on the charge sheet.and adjourned to January 16, 2025.
According to Kirya, the resident state attorney in charge of the case raised a preliminary objection requesting to dismiss the appeal because of a lack of interest by appellants who did not appear in court five times and were only represented by their lawyers.
“However, our issue came when the judge read about four other new witnesses we didn’t know about, which turned the case political,” he said.
The four witnesses included Okello Bosco, Pader GISO, Opira Robert, and Ocen Justine.
“As the Democratic Party, we do respect the court, but we request the court to act respectfully without following the influence of outside pressure,” he said.
He explained that the case has been given a new criminal appeal, to be number 022 of 2024 of the Kitgum High Court.
The DP Party asked the Chief Justice to closely monitor these upcountry courts of law; before their reappearance in court on January 16, 2025.
