The Drama at the premises of highest court in the country the Supreme Court is not about to end. Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamony Owiny-Dollo and the head of the Judiciary have directed with immediate effect the closure of the Court premises to non staff.

theGrapevine reporter tried to access the Supreme Court at 10:30am today and officers at the gate told him that non staff were not allowed to enter.

He was with other journalists who included; NTV’s Sudhir Byaruhanga, Bukedde radio’s Benon Nsubuga and others who were all refused to enter.

As they were stranded outside the gate, city lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi together with his personal assistant Ivan Lutakome Ssengooba arrived and the security officers from counter terrorism department of the Uganda police commanded by ASSP Nabirye told them that they have instructions from the Chief Justice not to allow non staff inside the court premises.

The nonsense lawyer grilled ASP Nabirye on why she was obeying unlawful orders from Justice Dollo.

“But this is a public place not Justice Dollo’s private home. Where did he get powers to close the Court? He found this Court here and he is going to leave it the way other Chief Justices like Justice Katureebe, Justice Odoki did,” a tough speaking Mabirizi said.

He explained to the officers that he was going to receive a ruling from Justice Esther Kisakye Kitimbo Mayambala on his application asking Justice Dollo to recuse himself from Bobi Wine’s petition.

He also told the guards that he needs some other documents to take to the East African Courts of Justice since they are also housed on the same building.

The soft-spoken ASP Nabirye advised Mabirizi to leave the premises.

Mabirizi bitterly advised ASP Nabirye to stop obeying unlawful orders and threatened to sue her.

As all this drama was going on, Supreme Court Justices, Justice Mike Chibitta, Justice Faith Mwondah and others were allowed to enter.

JUSTICE DOLLO ORDERS SECURITY TO THROW JUSTICE KISAKYE OUT OF COURT PREMISES

Credible sources at the Supreme Court intimated to theGrapevine that during yesterday’s drama, Justice Dollo directed the head of security at the supreme court to throw Justice Kisakye out of tent where she was reading her ruling from. Dollo also instructed security to tell Bobi Wine’s lawyers and journalists to leave.

Sources divulged that when the officer from counter terrorism refused, Justice Dollo phoned the head of court security SSP Nakintu to execute his orders because her junior refused.

Sources disclosed that SSP Nakintu asked Justice Dollo that let her first consult, after consulting her juniors at the supreme Court, she later told Dollo that she cannot throw a Supreme Court judge out of Court when she was reading a ruling.

“She told him that it will exaggerate the situation if officers throw out an old female Justice. She told him that she can even lose her life,” a source quoted SSP Nabirye.

MY FILE WAS CONFISCATED AT GUN POINT

After spending over six hours in her chambers waiting for a communication from her staff that Mabirizi and other people were in the Court room to receive their ruling on Justice Dollo’s refusal to step down from Bobi Wine’s petition, Justice Kisakye moved out of her chambers and asked her staff what was going on.

She was informed that non staff were not allowed in Court premises. The angry Kisakye walked to gate and officers including ASP Nabirye without any resistance and with all respect opened for her.

Accompanied by her bodyguarded, dressed in her black suit, Justice Kisakye told journalists that whatever Justice Dollo is doing is illegal and she will speak out on the genesis of their fight at an appropriate time.

She accused the judiciary senior communications officer Ssalongo Solomon Muyita of maligning her and giving false information to the public about what caused yesterday’s drama.

She explained that today morning at 7am, she moved to the registry where files are kept and looked for her confiscated file but she was told that they didn’t have the said file. She narrated that she then moved to the office of Harriet Nalukwago Ssali, the registrar of the Supreme Court and she told her that she didn’t know the whereabouts of her file.

She added that she proceeded to the office of the personal assistant to Justice Dollo who was not in her office. She tried to reach Justice Dollo in vain because his office was over guarded by tough looking security personals.

She accused Justice Dollo of confiscating her file at gun point and revealed that guns were coaked by officers on orders of the CJ.

Kisakye assured the public that she is going to give Mabirizi’s ruling next week via mail or she will communicate to him in person.

OTHER 7 SUPREME COURT JUSTICES, STAFF DRAGGED TO JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION

On Friday morning, lawyer Mabirizi petitioned justice Benjamin Kabiito’s judicial service commission complaining against seven supreme Court Justices. They include; Justice Stellah Arach Amoko, Justice Opio Aweri, Justice Faith Mwondah, Justice Percy Night Tuhaise, Justice Ezekiel Muhanguzi, Justice Mike Chibitta and Justice Paul Mugamba over Judicial misconduct.

In his letters, Mabirizi said that Supreme Court Justice connived with the already under probe Justice Dollo to break their oath of not being influenced by anybody, being independent and impartial when giving justice and abandoned their fellow justice when she was reading her dissenting ruling.

He said that the seven justices acted on orders of Justice Dollo who has a personal  misunderstanding with Kisakye.

Mabirizi wants the Judicial service Commission to investigate the said Supreme Court Justices and if found guilty recommend to the appointing authority the president to fire them including their boss Chief Justice Dollo.

Mabirizi also complained about Harriet Nalukwago Ssali, the Registrar of the Supreme Court who he accused of misconduct when she directed supreme Court Clerks not to go back to Court when Justice Kisakye was reading her ruling.

Mabirizi advised the Judicial Service Commission to fire Nalukwago with immediate effect.

JUSTICE KISAKYE’S RULINGS WILL NOT BE PUT ON COURT RECORD

Judiciary senior communications officer Solomon Muyita revealed that all the dissenting rulings made by Justice Kisakye will not be put on the Court record.

He said that during the reading of her ruling, Court staff were not in Court to capture the process so as to be put it on Court record.

He said that what is going to be done, the Chief Justice will choose an appropriate time and summon other Justices who were on the panel to be present when Justice Kisakye will read her ruling.

He said that this is not the first time such a scenario is happening, he cited a situation during the hearing of the Supreme Court Age Limit Appeal where Justice Mwondah wrote a dossier accusing former Chief Justice Bart Magunda Katureebe of being biased.

He said that the matter was humbly settled. He added that Kisakye’s grievances will be handled by the Chief Justice because he is the head of the Judiciary and the Supreme Court in particular.

MAJ GEN LOKECH INTERVINE

When ASP Nabirye stopped Mabirizi from entering Court premises. He sat down on the ground and called the Deputy Inspector of Police Maj. Gen. Paul Lokech to intervene.

During the phone conversation which theGrapevine  exclusively listened to, Mabirizi asked Maj. Gen. Lokech to intervene because his officers were obeying unlawful orders by stopping people from entering a public place. Maj Gen Lokech promised Mabirizi that he was going to intervene and address his complaint.

By Sengooba Alirabaki