The Principal Judge Justice Yorokamu Bamwine has called upon Ugandan lawyers to always make efforts to extend free legal services to the less privileged people for all citizens to benefit in the judicial system.
While officiating at the 2017 Annual Pro bono Day celebrations organized by the Uganda Law Society at Railways Grounds in Kampala, the Principle Judge said he received reports that a number of experienced lawyers are unwilling to participate in pro bono services and think this should be left to junior counsels.
He noted that prosecution usually deploys inexperienced, poor quality graduates who rarely meet the accused persons, on their appearances in court.
“They rarely cite laws in their appearances and end up leaving everything to court which makes judge’s work difficult,” remarked Bamwine.
The Principal Judge revealed however that he is designing a strategy to reverse this trend.
Meanwhile, at the event, the minister of Justice and Constitutional affairs Kahinda appealed to advocates to ensure equal protection of the law to all groups of people so that their perception towards the law may change.
“Offering legal aid not only reduces corruption and case backlog but also produces better outcomes for the administration of justice. Government in the process of putting up a Legal Aid program,” he said.