This investigative website can exclusive report that the outgoing Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija has made one of his last administrative decisions as the supervisor of all judges of the High Court by reshuffling judges before heading to the Court of Appeal to take on his new deployment as the Deputy Chief Justice replacing Justice Richard Butera who is retiring in the coming month of April 2025.
According to highly placed sources in the judiciary, the affected judges have started receiving their transfer letters and are supposed to report to their new station by 13th of April 2025.
Among those who have already received their transfer letters include: Justice Micheal Elubu of the Criminal Division of the High Court who has been transferred to replace Justice Lawrance Gidudu as the head of Anti-Corruption Division of the High.
Sources added that Justice Gidudu, who is the most senior judge of the High Court has been transferred to head Mukono High Court replacing Justice David Matovu who has been transferred to the Criminal Division of the High Court Kampala.
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Justice Emmanuel Baguma who has been the acting head of the Civil Division of the High Court after the promotion of his former boss Justice Musa Ssekaana to the Court of Appeal has been also transferred to the Criminal Division.
Justice Magrete Mutonyi of the Criminal Division of the High Court has been transferred to Mbale High Court and Justice Issa Sserukuma has been also deployed at the Criminal Division of the High Court.
Justice Zeija’s promotion left the office of the principal judge vacant and Justice Dr Douglas Singiza, the newly appointed chairperson of the Uganda Judicial Service Commission, a mandatory body responsible for recruiting and disciplining judicial officers, has not yet announced the process of recruiting his replacement.
Sources said that the process of getting the new Principal Judge is not likely to kick-off soon because there are vacancies of the members sitting on the Judicial Service Commission which have not yet been occupied.
The process to elect members representing the Uganda Law Society on the Judicial Service Commission was frustrated with Court orders issued by Justice Musa Ssekaana stopping the election insisting that the rightful process was not followed as some of the members of the society claim in their suit before the court.
President Museveni has also not yet appointed other members to assist justice Singiza and sources claim justice Gidudu will sit in acting capacity since he is the most senior judge of all the judges of the High Court.
Sources added that justice Zaija cannot occupy both offices and he has already started attending administration meetings of the Court of Appeal even though he has not yet officially received the office from justice Butera.
