Hon. Chief Justice and the Hon. Deputy Chief Justice Sworn-in

Hon. Justice Bart Katureebe, Hon Justice Kavuma and President Museveni at the Swearing in Ceremony

The new Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Bart Katureebe and the Deputy Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Steven Bugingo Kukiriza Kavuma, were on 20 March 2015 sworn in, together with six newly appointed ministers.

The ceremony took place at State House Entebbe presided over by President Yoweri Museveni. Present was First Lady Janet Museveni, the acting Chief Registrar Isaac Muwata. Judiciary’s two top leaders and the new ministers were accompanied by their family members.

In a short congratulatory speech, President Museveni said Uganda’s top hierarchy, as outlined in the Constitution is now full. "According to the Constitution, the president is number one, the vice president is number two, the speaker of Parliament as number three, the chief justice is number four, followed by the deputy speaker of Parliament, the deputy chief justice and the prime minister as number seven,” said the President.

He said he now expects the Judiciary to "handle with a lot of sensitivity” the serious crimes of murder, rape, defilement, matters that destabilize people’s freedoms and ownership of property. "The Judiciary will have to address the issue of serious crimes in this country as a matter of urgency,” said the President.

President Museveni further re-echoed his views on the need by the judicial officers to exercise extreme caution on matters of bail applications from capital offenders. "Bail in regard to these serious crimes is dangerous because it destabilizes the process of justice in the eyes of the public and the victims,” said the president.

To the new ministers, President Museveni said he gets bothered with the slow pace of implementation of government programmes. He gave an example of the licensing process of investors in Uganda which takes 32 days, yet countries line Rwanda and Canada does so in just two days.

He however, said he was happy that the situation in the country today is good. He said the poor performance of the dollar against the shilling is a result of over-reliance on imported goods and exportation of raw materials.

Hon. Justice Katureebe and Hon. Justice Kavuma were appointed CJ and DCJ on 5 March 2015 and they were confirmed in the positions by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on 18 March 2015.

Hon. Justice Katureebe, a member of the Supreme Court, has replaced Hon. Justice Benjamin Odoki, who retired in March 2013, whereas Hon. Justice Kavuma replaces Hon. Lady Justice Alice Mpagi-Bahigeine who retired in October 2012.

Hon. Justice Bart Katureebe Profile

He was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court, Uganda’s highest appellate court in August 2005. He brings to Judiciary’s top seat a long-standing career in the legal profession and in the government – including service as state attorney, private legal practitioner, government minister and Attorney General – spreading over 40 years.

Born in Bunyarugru, in the western Uganda district of Bushenyi on 20 June 1950, Hon. Justice Katureebe went through the Makerere University (1971–74) and the Law Development Centre in Kampala (1974-75) for his legal education, among others.

He started his professional career as a State Attorney in the Attorney General’s Chambers in 1975, rising to the rank of Principal State Attorney. In 1983, he left the Ministry of Justice for private legal practice.

Hon. Justice Katureebe later served as Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Cooperation (1988-91); Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology (1991-92); Minister of State for Health (1992-96); and Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1996-2001).

He represented the people of Bunyaruguru County, Bushenyi in the same constituency in the Constituent Assembly that debated and passed the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda – also serving as a member of the Legal and Drafting Committee (1993-95). He was also elected representative of Bunyaruguru as legislator in the 6^th Parliament (1996-2001).

Hon. Justice Katureebe went back to private legal practice between 2001 and 2005, becoming one of the founding partners of a renowned Kampala Associated Advocates, and was at the time named in Chambers Global, 2004 as one of Uganda’s leading lawyers. He also served on the Boards of Standard Chartered Bank Ltd (director) and New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Ltd (chairman).

He has since 2007 also served as Judiciary’s representative on the Judicial Service Commission, as well as chairman of the Management Committee of the Law Development Centre.

Who is Justice Kavuma

Hon. Justice Steven B. K Kavuma was appointed Justice of the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court on 29 October 2004.

He has since March 2013 served as Acting Deputy Chief Justice, following the demise of then Acting Deputy Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Constance Byamugisha, and subsequently as Acting Chief Justice, following the retirement of the former Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Benjamin Odoki, mid-2013.

Hon. Justice Kavuma was born on 29 September 1948, and attended Kamanya (now Bunamwaya) Primary School in Wakiso District (1960); Mengo Junior School; Mengo Senior Secondary School; Nyakasura School (1969). He then joined Makerere University, Kampala from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honors in 1974, and attained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Center in 1975. He is also a holder of a certificate in Project Planning and Management (1997), a certificate Computer Applications (2002), and is currently pursuing a masters’ degree in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies from Makerere University.

His professional career began in 1975 as a State Attorney in the Attorney General’s Chambers (Solicitor General’s Department), from where he was seconded to head the Legal Department of the National Insurance Corporation, rising into the position of Corporation Secretary.

In 1981, Hon. Justice Kavuma left Government service and went into Private Practice under the firm name of Kavuma & Company Advocates, which firm later became Kavuma, Katureebe & Company Advocates.