The Judiciary says the Uganda police has no powers to summon a magistrate in regard to a judgement she made over a court case.
The judiciary was responding to an article in one of the local news paper on the 11th February 2020 titled: “Magistrate summoned over controversial land eviction order”.
The newspaper article refers to a Police investigation relating to an alleged illegal eviction and malicious damage to property arising from Civil Suit in the Hoima Chief Magistrates’ Court.
According to the summon, the magistrate was needed to record a statement in relation to the investigations.
However, the acting Chief Registrar, Tom Chemutai, has since advised the Director Criminal Investigations that it is irregular for the Police to summon a Magistrate over a court decision.
“The Police cannot summon Judicial Officers to explain how they handle court cases but can only seek clarification from court ”
The chief registrar further says that the constitution gives the judiciary independence and not subjected to the control or
direction of any person or authority.
Chemutai however, has advised anyone dissatisfied with any court decision to appeal to a higher court including
the Inspectorate of Courts, the Chief Registrar, or Judicial Service Commission for
proper investigations to be conducted and appropriate action taken.