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{
    "id": 366311,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/366311/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Kajuju",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 840,
        "legal_name": "Florence Kajuju",
        "slug": "florence-kajuju"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I rise to support this report and to state that it is important that we give quorum to the vetting of Judges and Magistrates Board because for quite some time this board has not been able to sit because they lack the three judges that are supposed to sit with them to constitute the required forum and quorum. You will find that, much as these judges did not physically present themselves before the Committee to which I belong; you will find that even in their appointment, the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Act sets the criteria which the appointing authority must comply with. Hon. Speaker, under Section 7(b), is clear that the appointing authority must appoint and distinguish a judge who is either retired or serving in the commonwealth. He must have been a chief justice or a judge of a superior court. When we looked at all these requirements, and the criteria that have been set, we found that the appointing authority had complied with the provisions of the law. Hon. Speaker, I am aware that there are several magistrates who have not been vetted and they had applied to be promoted to be judges through the process of vetting by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). What the JSC did is that it dropped the people who were magistrates and had not been vetted from the list of the persons who were supposed to be interviewed for judgeship. We know that there has been a delay. So, what we are asking in this report is that this board be allowed to proceed with its mandate as per the Constitution. You will also find that bringing on board the foreign judges is meant to restore confidence in the Judiciary. For a long time, members of the public had thought that the Judiciary was failing and that is why foreign judges were brought on board. It is also important that we have the foreign judges on board for best practices as they had served for 20 to 40 years at most, in their respective jurisdictions. Therefore, what this means is that these are judges who are recognized and accredited in their various jurisdictions. Hon. Speaker, I rise to support this report."
}