President Museveni has appointed Public Service minister, Mr Wilson Muruli Mukasa, as acting minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, ending a six-month period of the ministry running with no political head.
The office has been vacant since June 2021, when Museveni named a new Cabinet but left the position unfilled.
According to a January 13 letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Mukasa, will now hold the two portfolios, as the country awaits a substantive minister.
“As you know, I have not yet appointed a substantive minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs,” Mr Museveni said in the letter.
He added: “Therefore, by powers given to the President by Article 98 (1) and 99(1) of the Constitution, I assign Hon. Muruli Mukasa to be acting Minister of Constitutional Affairs in addition to his role as Minister of Public Service”.
The deputy press secretary to the President, Mr Faruk Kirunda, yesterday confirmed the development, saying the President had conducted the necessary consultations before the appointment.
Mr Mukasa will hold fort at a time the justice and constitutional sector has a plateful of issues including the debate around bail for capital offenders, claims of rule of law and human rights abuses.
The Justice ministry is mandated to ensure that Uganda upholds the rule of law, good governance and takes charge of the legal due process for all citizens and residents.
The president of the Uganda Law Society, Ms Pheona Wall, is optimistic that the appointment of the minister will advance many processes that had been on hold.
“We believe the ministry of Justice is very crucial and he will have to deal with the backlog for example in the Administrator General’s office because there are certain things that are strictly for the minister and these have built up during the time we have not had the minister,” she said.
She added: “We have the issue of the rule of law. We have had court orders being ignored and we have not had a voice in Cabinet, so we welcome the appointment of the minister, it has been long overdue and we hope that the worrying trend of disregard of court orders, disregard the rule of law especially when it comes to due process in prosecution will be looked into.”
Ms Wall added that the minister should address issues concerning the Judiciary Administration Bill, and take on the Legal Aid Bill, which seeks to improve access to justice and have government budget for aid for those who may not afford lawyers.