I’ll serve until I run out of energy - Odoki

Justice Odoki addresses a gathering in Kampala on Friday during a function to install Ms Bigombe as Good Will ambassador for Abeto, a civil society organisation. photo by Abubaker Lubowa 

By FARAHANI MUKISA

In Summary

Respect. The retired Chief Justice says he led the development of the Constitution in 1995 and that he will respect it to his grave.

KAMPALA.

Undeterred by the growing public criticisms of his reappointment as Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki has said he is still strong and will continue to serve until he runs out of energy.

The re-appointed Chief Justice, who led a team that developed the 1995 Constitution, said he is not ready to retire from service of the country because he is still “firm and solid”.

“I spent a lot of my primary time developing that (1995) Constitution, which is governing the country and I want to assure Ugandans that I will respect it until I go to the grave,” said Justice Odoki.

As he took to the podium to address a gathering at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation gardens on Friday, the jolly-looking Odoki said: “I know the country is looking at me because of what is happening in the media. But, As you can see, I am still firm and solid. I still love my country and as long as I have energy, I will serve my country.”

Restraining to comment further on his re-appointment that has provoked viral criticisms from the elite society of Uganda, the 70-year-old Justice said: “I am a strong believer in constitutionalism, by so doing, I urge everybody to respect it. I know that Constitution, it’s not for one person, it’s not for two, it’s for the whole country. I am not going to comment on what is going on in the country.”

He made the remarks at the installation ceremony of Ms Betty Bigombe, the Minister of State for Water and Environment, as a Goodwill Ambassador for civil society organisation Abeto (Always Be Tolerant). Abeto was founded by Mr Moses Musana, who remains its chairman.

He commended Abeto for its persistent search for peace and democracy in Uganda and Africa as a whole. He also told the gathering that the public must embrace pluralism as a key to democracy.

“Just as we have rights, we have the responsibilities, and so I support Abeto for preaching tolerance. Tolerance means you must accept pluralism because that is a democratic value. Multipartism means that you must accept pluralism, people have divergent ideas and lawyers will have different ideas. But how you promote these ideas must be in the best manner.”

Background
In 1989, Justice Odoki was appointed chairman of the Uganda Constitutional Commission which collected the views of the public and prepared a Draft Constitution for Uganda which was debated and adopted by an elected Constituent Assembly in 1995.

He also served as consultant on constitution-making processes in Kenya, Swaziland and Rwanda, and chaired Uganda’s Judicial Service Commission.

In a July 9 letter to Justice Ogoola, President Museveni indicated that he had received a Judicial Service Commission’s proposal to appoint Justice Bart Katureebe as the new chief justice.

The President, however, noted that Justice Katureebe is very able according to his [President’s] “layman’s” assessment basing on his tenure as Attorney General for a number of years.

After praising Justice Katureebe’s credentials, the President referred to another letter Justice Ogoola had sent him, in which the commission had proposed that Justice Odoki and other retiring justices of the Supreme Court be requested to stay as acting justices for two years.

The President recently forwarded the names of Justice Odoki and three other retired judges – Justice John Wilson Tsekooko, Justice Galdino Okello and Justice Christine Kitumba – to Parliament for vetting. The exercise has not yet taken place.