BOBi WINE: "Stop Humiliating & Prosecuting Hon. lady Justice Esther kisakye".

The ongoing humiliation and persecution of Hon. Lady Justice Esther Kisakye by leaders within the judiciary is unfortunate. It should be condemned. 

In February 2021, Justice Kisakye defied illegal orders of the Chief Justice who wanted to censor the dissenting Judgment she gave in our favour during the presidential election Petition we had filed against dictator Museveni. To block her from delivering her judgment, the Chief Justice Mr. Owiny-Dollo (M7’s former lawyer) confiscated her file and ordered the Courtroom shut down!

Later when Justice Kisakye tried to deliver another Judgment showing why he should not have presided over the Petition, the partisan Mr. Owiny-Dollo had the entire court building put on lock down! This background shows why the Lady Justice is now being singled out for punishment. Any other 'explanation' for mistreating her is just an excuse. 

Article 128 of our Constitution guarantees judicial independence. However, there are so many judicial officers out there being victimised for resisting unseemly State interference with how they dispense justice. Many have been dumped in hard-to-reach duty stations — not because the citizens that side do not deserve justice, but because the deprived conditions of work there serve as some form of punishment to "stubborn" judicial officers. 

Experienced and qualified officers have been denied promotion in favour of their regime-leaning juniors. You might wonder why Justice Kisakye who has spent 13+ years in the Supreme Court alone was passed over for Mr. Owiny-Dollo who was 10+ years her junior at that level. Despite churning out several locus classicus Judgments regularly cited in our courtrooms and law classes, some Judges have remained stuck at High Court level as M7's former Ministers are appointed from nowhere to the Court of Appeal and higher. 

It therefore goes without saying that Justice Kisakye is being hounded for choosing to defend the Constitution and her judicial oath instead of succumbing to the whims of the bandits who hold our country and its institutions hostage. For that, we hold her in the highest of regard and know that the future will vindicate her the same way it did the late Chief Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka. We stand with Justice Kisakye, just like we do all such other public servants as have maintained fidelity to the law and to our Country. 

As for the rest of us, comrades, these ugly events not only validate our struggle but also remind us that we have a country to save. #WeAreRemovingaDictator!