By: Musekura Kenedy
The Mainstream media recently run headlines to the effect that the US Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Executive Order (E. O) 13818 had imposed sanctions against four Ugandans over allegations of their involvement into child adoption scam. The list is comprised of: a retired judge Justice Moses Mukiibi, Justice Wilson Musalu Musene currently a Soroti resident judge and Ugandan lawyer, Dora Mirembe and her husband, Patrick Ecobu.
I have not yet acquitted myself with content of that law under which they were found culpable, therefore, for this piece I will heavily rely on the little that the media has gathered for an eye of an ordinary Ugandan.
I have few concerns with regard to that law. First are nations not likely to interpret it as interference in their sovereignty?
US as a member of United Nations when it is passing those sanctions, do they give culprits a room for a defense latter alone an avenue for an appeal in case of contentions of some grounds? If not, doesn’t their verdict contradict some US laws including the US constitution and other International laws that espouse the right to fair hearing such as the International Human Rights Treaties Such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights among other cocktail of International laws that provides and enjoins member states to observe sections to these documents to the letter?
What if a country was to disagree or is disputes the US verdict and would wish to protect the reputation of her citizens does that law provides for way out?
Secondly, if one is to go by the status quo, now that US has lifted the ‘gowns and the wigs of some Judicial and law society members’ , are these two crucial bodies in dispensing justice going to carry their own investigations of their own with an aim of establishing whether indeed they were engaged in corruption deals as alleged by U.S? If yes, will various nationals that prohibits against corruption take shape on the parties?
Doesn’t that verdict in way perhaps vindicates those that have been becoming out with concerns including retired Justices and senior lawyers with allegations of corruption of some Judicial officers and many that continue to talk about the subject in hashed tones?
Will Judiciary play an Observer role as her image is being butters by the selfish interest of a few individuals of her own? And what is the cost of opting for this road of inaction to the Judicial sector?
How comes Judiciary through various mechanisms of bringing their own to accountability did not notice this or were they aware and opted to wink for their own?
One of the implications of the law, is freezing of asserts of the culprits by the Office of Foreign the Asserts Control (OFAC) does the captured dime gets repatriated to the state coffers where culprits come from or it end in US confers? If answer to the latter is affirmative, apart from inconveniencing the culprit where does an ordinary citizen from where culprit come from benefit from?
Lastly are we likely to see a revolution among public servants whereby they will cogitate on every action they make with a view that the world is perhaps becoming smaller for men that engage in evils like corruption hence even if one was to circumvent or ‘play hide and seek’ with national institutions, there is a big brother watching with keen interest of ones conduct?
Musekura Kenedy is a researcher
Twitter: @kennedyndeze1
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